


Strangely, You Feel Like Home

by yamayamawrites



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (Chapter 5), Aged-Up Character(s), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Rated M for later Chapters, Single Parents, Single Parents AU, Some Plot, Sort of? - Freeform, maybe some smut, neighbors to friends to lovers?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:01:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamayamawrites/pseuds/yamayamawrites
Summary: Since his last semester of college, Shouyo had been the father of twins - two rays of sunshine that he didn't expect but loves nonetheless. He gave up everything to be the father he wished he had, including his own dream of becoming a professional volleyball player. Instead he settled for becoming a volleyball coach at the local elementary school, making a little of each dream coexist as he taught his twins how to play volleyball.However, when Shouyo discovers that his extremely rude neighbor Tobio is the same Tobio that plays professional volleyball for the very team Shouyo dreamed of being on, and that said Tobio wants Shouyo to coach his child, he can't help but think it's a prank.The Single Parents AU that nobody asked for.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 44
Kudos: 189





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends! I'm back again with another AU that nobody asked for because that's just all I write at this point. I'm really excited for this one! I just finished rereading a wonderful Kuroko no Basket single-parents fic (called Found Something Better if you're curious) and felt like it was somehow my responsibility to bring this mess into the world. I really hope you enjoy!
> 
> As always, please leave any constructive criticism in the comments - I write for you guys, and I sincerely appreciate the help in making my works even better. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Tobio awoke to the sound of shrill laughter just outside his window. He blinked blearily, shielding his eyes from the mid-afternoon sun shining in through the blinds he hadn’t bothered to close. He grumbled, ready to go tell the children to play somewhere else – but then it was accompanied by a much deeper voice, that of an adult, laughing along with them.

He gripped the bridge of his nose and forced himself to sit up. Of all the days this could happen, it just _had_ to be the day he arrived home. He just wanted some peace and quiet, was that too much to ask?

Tobio pushed his legs off the side of the bed and forced himself to his feet. Every single one of his muscles ached at him to disappear back under the covers and perhaps throw on some noise-cancelling headphones, but when that deep voice yelled a shrill, “Gotcha!” followed by one (or perhaps two?) children laughing, he thought angrily that it probably wouldn’t help, anyway. He wandered into the kitchen and found his and his nephew’s multiple suitcases. He rubbed his shoulder and cracked his neck, remembered the struggle it had been just to get Ichiro to sleep on the plane…

_Ichiro._

Tobio tiptoed up the stairs of his town home. He hoped that the children outside hadn’t woken him from his nap – he rarely slept as it was. To his surprise, when he pushed open Ichiro’s bedroom door, the toddler still laid splayed out on the bed, his rear hanging in the air while his plump cheek pressed lazily against his pillow. Tobio smiled, padding across the room as quietly as possible. He raked a gentle hand through his nephew’s dark hair, leaned down and pressed a kiss to that plump cheek. Anyone who saw them together commented that they looked like father and son, usually assumed such, and he’d never bothered to correct them. He supposed he was more of a father to the boy than his actual father, anyway.

But the shrieks continued outside. They grated on Tobio’s nerves, and he calmly left the small bedroom (so as not to wake the child). The second he closed Ichiro’s door he stormed down the steps and swung open the front door of his townhome.

He sighed and raked a trembling hand through his dark hair. Of all the days for someone to be moving in, it just _had_ to be today.

Two little kids, a boy and a girl, with the most vibrant orange hair came pounding on stubby legs down the sidewalk with tiny boxes in their hands. Behind them, Tobio assumed their father carried a much larger box in his hands – he couldn’t see the man’s face, just a few unruly orange curls poking out from the top of the box. He pinched the bridge of his nose again. “Oi,” he called, startling the children and the father alike.

The man stopped and set his box down. “Oh, hi!” he waved, voice bright and chipper. “You must be our new neighbor!”

“Can you keep it down a bit?” Tobio tried his best not to sound grumpy, but he already had a short temper when it came to any child besides his Ichiro.

“Sorry, sorry!” the man rubbed his neck. He waved the children to continue on, and they fumbled their way into the town home next door. The man jogged up the short driveway towards the porch Tobio stood on, his curls bouncing with his steps. He outstretched a hand, a warm, sunny smile plastered on his face. It almost made Tobio sick how energetic he could be, and he barely knew him. “I’m Hinata Shouyo. And you are?”

“Tobio,” he said shortly and shook his hand. “Can you please just try to be a little quieter? My boy and I got in late last night from the United States—”

“Tobio, ah?” Shouyo tapped his chin. “How old is your son?”

Tobio startled at the sudden topic change, not bothering to correct him that Ichiro wasn’t his son. “He’s—he’s almost four.”

“How exciting!” Shouyo chirped. “My babies are turning three next month.”

“You’re a little young to have kids, aren’t you?” Tobio asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Shouyo laughed. “You’re not the first person to say that.”

The twins came stomping their feet out of the town home next door, laughing and chasing each other around the fenced-in front yard with dolls in their hands. “That’s my cue, Tobio,” Shouyo watched the children run around the front yard. “We’ll try to be quiet! Hopefully we’ll see each other soon!”

Shouyo jogged back down the driveway, turned and ran towards his own yard, and chased his kids around. Tobio sighed and rubbed his temple; they were no quieter in their endeavors than before. His only hope was that the town home walls were thick, since they shared a wall.

Ichiro tugged at Tobio’s sleeve next to him. “Uncle,” he mumbled in a quiet, sleep-filled voice. “Hungry.”

“What’re you hungry for?” Tobio asked, bending down to scoop him up. “We have to go grocery shopping soon. Want to pick something out there?”

A pout settled on the boy’s lips. “No grocery store,” he grumbled.

“We have to,” Tobio replied in his gentle voice, combing down some of the stray hairs poking up from Ichiro’s head. “I’ll get you a treat if you behave, how does that sound?”

The pout melted away and replaced itself with a shy smile. Ichiro hugged Tobio around the neck and pulled at his hair. “Treat!” he chirped.

Tobio walked Ichiro back into the house to dress themselves for a trip to the store. Though Shouyo and his children already grated on his nerves, part of him hoped that Ichiro could at least make some new friends from the arrangement.

* * *

Shouyo made the decision shortly after two that afternoon to call his friends from high school, Sawamura and Koushi, for some help moving. He realized (after several failed attempts) that he couldn’t carry his bedframe alone, nor could he carry his couch or dining table by himself. They brought their adopted daughter, Hikari, who had been tasked with occupying the twins, Mitsu and Haruto. With three sets of adult hands instead of the former arrangement, moving boxes and furniture didn’t take even half as long as Shouyo expected, and just before six that evening the three men collapsed next to each other on the couch.

“This place is pretty big,” Koushi noted, looking around the spacious town home. “Nice wood floors, too. Is Hitoka covering it?”

“Yeah,” Shouyo nodded. “She’s over in America again until the end of the month with her job, so she’s been sending money to help cover daycare and such while I packed everything up.”

Hikari and the twins came storming out of the downstairs bedroom, squealing and wielding foam swords that Shouyo couldn’t remember purchasing for the kids. They seemed to be having fun, though, and he had no problem with it – so long as they didn’t get hurt.

“How long is Hitoka staying in town?” Sawamura asked.

“At least until the twins’ birthday party,” Shouyo replied. “Probably a little longer than last time. I know she’s getting a little anxious being away for so long at a time.”

“It’s really great you both kept in touch,” Koushi murmured, almost to himself. Shouyo couldn’t help but agree.

“They’re her kids, too,” he said softly. “I couldn’t ever let what happened in the past get between her and these little rays of sunshine.”

His daughter, Mitsu, pounced on him, squealing and laughing and swinging the foam sword at his head with the accuracy of a blind animal. Shouyo laughed with her and grabbed her under the arms, twirling her around. He growled in a mock-menacing tone. “Grr, daddy’s gonna getcha!” he cried, blew raspberries into her stomach. Mitsu kicked her feet and screamed, her giggles echoing off the nearly empty walls of the home. Soon after, Haruto jumped at Shouyo’s legs, screaming for similar treatment.

“You want daddy to get you, too?” Shouyo bellowed, followed by an evil laugh. He let Mitsu down and the girl ran for Hikari, grabbing at her dress. He scooped Haruto up in a swift movement and the boy squirmed in his grasp, his laughter just as shrill as Mitsu’s. Koushi and Sawamura watched with amusement.

Eventually Haruto squirmed himself out of Shouyo’s grasp and he let the boy down. Shouyo collapsed back onto the couch, laughing to himself. “I don’t know how you do it,” Koushi said finally.

“What’s that?” Shouyo asked, looked over at him with a lazy smile.

“They’re so energetic at that age, and there’s two of them,” Koushi sighed. He let his head fall back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling with a sort of dazed smile on his lips. “I could barely even keep track of Hikari when she was that age.”

Sawamura laughed, then, nodding in agreement. “I did most of the chasing when she was that age,” he added.

“They’re a full-time job, for sure,” Shouyo said with a gentle sigh. “But they sleep through the night, so at least I’ve got that.”

“Hikari never slept through the night,” Koushi laughed. “I’m jealous.”

The children circled around the kitchen island then came back at full force, yelling and stomping through the living area that the three adults had settled into. “Should we order a pizza?” Sawamura leaned over and murmured to Shouyo, tried to keep the children from hearing. It was for naught, though, as the children erupted into cheers.

“Pizza! Pizza!” they shouted in unison, grabbing hands and dancing around in a circle.

Shouyo laughed and even got up with them, danced around and broke apart his children’s hands so he could fit between them. “I’ll pay,” he said over the chants. “It’s the least I could do for getting your help today.”

* * *

Despite the twins’ normally-decent sleep habits, neither of the two children got a good amount of sleep their first night. Shouyo couldn’t sleep much, either; but considering how exhausted he felt after moving all the furniture, he assumed his restlessness stemmed from his kids’.

Cranky whines and balled fists slamming into high chairs had Shouyo ready to put in some ear plugs and just go back to bed anyway – but still he wore his best morning smile as he fought with each of his children to eat their breakfasts. “Mitsu-chan, don’t you want your breakfast? The big monster is gonna eat it if you don’t!” he cried, ready to shovel a bite of Mitsu’s favorite oatmeal into his own mouth.

“Yuck!” Mitsu shouted in response, swatted at the bowl for good measure. Shouyo thanked his fast reflexes for catching it before it toppled onto the ground.

“Yuck,” Haruto giggled beside Mitsu, swinging his legs under his chair.

“Babies have to eat their food before they can go play volleyball,” Shouyo said pointedly, offering another spoonful to each of them.

“Bally-ball!” Haruto chanted, slammed his fists down with more energy now.

A knock came at Shouyo’s door. He fought back a groan – who could possibly be here now?

He chose to ignore it in lieu of caring for his screaming toddlers, but it came again, more urgent this time. He sighed and scooped two squirming children out of their high chair seats, rocked them carefully as he yelled out a, “Coming!”

It took some maneuvering to open the door, but when he did, he saw a cranky, tired-looking Tobio. “Oh, good morning!” Shouyo set his children down, who immediately took to hiding behind one of each of his legs.

Tobio had the bridge of his nose pinched between his fingers. “Hi,” he said shortly. “I—uh, just was wondering if you could keep it down. Just a little. We um—” he waved his hand towards the wall connecting their homes— “we share a wall. It’s a little thin.”

Shouyo fought a scowl with a grin, and it ended up coming off as some weird (perhaps constipated) look. “Haruto, Mitsu, how about you go pick out some clothes for school today? Daddy will be there in a minute.”

The twins didn’t need to be given a second excuse to leave Tobio at the door; he seemed to radiate an energy that screamed ‘I hate kids’. Mitsu sniffled as she went, fought off a bout of tears that would likely come later that day.

The smile melted from Shouyo’s face and was instead replaced with a grimace, and had Tobio the mental capacity to reason with himself after losing out on a night of sleep, he might have realized he shouldn’t have come on such a busy morning. “Listen, Tobio,” Shouyo’s voice dropped deep, “I don’t know if you think you have some sort of angel kid or what, but I’m trying to raise twins on my own here and I’m sorry if they’re a _little_ loud. We’ve been here exactly sixteen hours and you’ve already told me twice that my children are loud, but guess what? I know! I live with them!”

Never one to back away from a challenge, though, Tobio sneered and leaned closer. “My Ichiro never cried like your kids did all night last night. What, are you just unfit to be a parent?”

Shouyo practically steamed at the ears. “Don’t you _dare_ try and tell me I’m unfit to be a parent,” he growled. “I gave up everything for my kids and I may not be the best father to them, but I’m doing what I can.”

Tobio couldn’t help but feel like he’d stepped on a land mine. Rather than rile the man up more, he _tch_ ed and walked away without another word; had Shouyo’s children been at school, Shouyo would have likely gone after him, yelled some more, maybe sent a punch into that smug face of his. But Mitsu and Haruto’s voices chattered in the downstairs bedroom, and Shouyo would never do anything so cruel with his children’s watchful eyes on him.

It took Shouyo approximately forty-three seconds to fix his children’s outfit choices. Mitsu had settled for a bright pink dress with one green and one blue shoe – on the wrong feet, to top it off. Shouyo fixed her shoes while Haruto proudly marched around the room, a stuffed frog hanging out of his little chubby fist. His pants were inside-out and he’d put on two tee shirts. “Which one do you want to wear, buddy?” Shouyo asked while he peeled each of them off.

“Both!” Haruto chirped.

“How about one today and one tomorrow?”

“Both, daddy!”

Shouyo sighed, smiled to himself. “Okay, sure. Which one do you want on top?”

They tried breakfast again shortly after. It went much better this time, though Shouyo did have to take Haruto’s top shirt off of him due to most of his breakfast ending up on his shirt rather than in his mouth. Still, less than a half hour after Tobio’s rude greeting, Shouyo had each of his children’s bags thrown over his shoulders and they were walking to the local elementary school.

The walk itself wasn’t far – part of the reason Shouyo moved where he did. Though, if he’d known how grumpy his next door neighbor would be, he likely would have moved somewhere else. They lived in a small town just on the outskirts of Shouyo’s hometown, somewhere he never imagined himself moving back to. The elementary school was in a suburban area, surrounded by gorgeous houses, with a playground that spanned the size of half a football field at least. The gymnasium sat off the main building just a little ways, and just after Shouyo walked Mitsu and Haruto to the daycare room, he himself was escorted to the gymnasium.

“Can’t believe you decided to get a job here,” Kei droned, adjusting his glasses. He’d started teaching at the school just after college.

Shouyo laughed chipperly. “I love volleyball, I love my kids. I don’t see how this wasn’t the perfect option for me.”

“You’re right,” Kei sighed. “This probably _was_ the perfect option for you.”

When they stepped inside, Shouyo found that the gymnasium was much larger than expected; there were large curtains separating the gymnasium into four half-courts. “We host a lot of the local middle school and high school sporting events here,” Kei explained. “Tournaments and such.”

“Right,” Shouyo nodded.

“We have two programs,” Kei further explained. “We run the younger kids’ camp just after lunch, while the older kids finish their school day. Then, the older kids come in.” He glanced over at Shouyo as he spoke. “It’s a little sad to see this is where you ended up, Shouyo.”

Shouyo laughed in response. “Maybe so,” he countered, “but I’d rather be on the court, even if it’s a small one, than in an office.”

“Sure,” Kei agreed finally.

“Kei!” a familiar voice called, and at the doorway of the gymnasium stood Tadashi, pushing a stroller ahead of him. “The front desk said I could find you here.”

“Well, you found me,” Kei replied with a mock-annoyed tone.

“Hold on, is that… _Shouyo_?”

“Hey, Tadashi!” Shouyo waved, his wide smile growing even wider.

“What are you doing here?” Tadashi asked, wheeled the stroller further into the gymnasium. “Last I heard, you and Hitoka were planning on settling down and—”

“Change of plans,” Shouyo rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Who’s this little one?” he gestured to the stroller, peeking at the small child that had drifted to sleep in the midst of their ride.

“Yuki,” Kei replied, ran a lazy hand through the child’s long, blonde hair. “Our daughter.”

Shouyo slapped a hand over his mouth. “You had a baby?!” he cried, though his voice was muffled by the hand clamped over his mouth.

Tadashi nodded, grin spread wide across his face. “Two winters ago, now.”

Shouyo sighed. “I guess I’ve missed a lot since I’ve been gone.”

“Not too much,” Kei replied. “We didn’t tell anyone about her until she was born, so.” He glanced at his watch impatiently. “Tadashi, mind waiting for me outside? I’ve got to finish showing Shouyo around.”

“Oh, I’ll be quiet!” Tadashi insisted.

“Yuki might not be,” Kei countered.

“She’s sleeping,” Shouyo replied. “Plus, I want to be here when she _does_ wake up so she can meet Uncle Shouyo.”

Kei sighed, clicked his tongue, but didn’t protest. He led Shouyo through the gymnasium, the locker rooms, and up to the balcony level. “Tooru should also be here soon,” Kei muttered finally, looking again at his watch. “He’s late. That’s so like him.”

“Tooru…” Shouyo mumbled. “You don’t mean… _Oikawa_ Tooru?”

“I do,” Kei sighed. “He’s been working here part time for about two years now. I asked him to be here early today to greet you.”

Shouyo had never gotten the chance to play volleyball against Tooru in high school or college, but he’d heard amazing things. Those amazing things were proven true when Tooru went pro for a few years – known as the Grand King to most of his fans, including Shouyo himself – but had to quit due to a knee injury. He feared he’d lost his one and only chance to ever play against Tooru; now he would be working alongside him.

“Sorry I’m late!” Tooru chirped from below. Shouyo hung off the railing like a child, a wide grin on his face. Tooru’s eyes met Shouyo. “You the newbie?”

“That’s me!” Shouyo couldn’t contain himself; he leapt down from the balcony, eliciting a cry of surprise from Tadashi and an annoyed sigh from Kei. Tooru watched with a faltering smile as he rushed up to greet him. “Hinata Shouyo,” Shouyo bowed his head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Oikawa Tooru,” Tooru offered his hand to Shouyo. “Pleasure’s all mine. Are you working here part time, too?”

“Starting today,” Shouyo nodded.

“In that case, why don’t you help me set up the nets?”

“Yes sir!”

* * *

The stampede of toddlers into the gymnasium just after lunchtime was the one thing Shouyo felt he _wasn’t_ prepared for.

Tooru stood beside him with open arms while the children rushed up to him, and several children rushed up to Shouyo, too. They jumped at his legs and Shouyo laughed, knelt down to greet them. Mitsu and Haruto were amidst them, running up and trying to tackle Shouyo to the ground – and they succeeded. He laughed warmly as children tugged at his hair, his ears, his arms.

Tooru blew a whistle and the children clambered off him. “Hi everyone!” he chirped.

“Hi Tooru-san!” the preschoolers chanted in response. Mitsu and Haruto clung to Shouyo’s legs after he pushed himself back to his feet.

“Today we have a new coach!”

The children cheered and some of them fidgeted, seemingly ready to pounce at Shouyo again, but Tooru somehow managed to keep them in line. “Everyone, say hello to Shouyo-san!”

“Hi Shouyo-san!” the preschoolers echoed.

“Shouyo-san will be coaching all the chibis today!” Tooru clapped his hands together. “Raise your hand if you’re a chibi!”

“Chibi?” Shouyo mumbled under his breath. Tooru leaned over to him.

“Everyone under the age of four is considered a chibi,” he explained his metric system.

“Right,” Shouyo nodded.

It didn’t take long for toddlers to surround him; Shouyo nearly fell over with the force of the children coming for him. Mitsu and Haruto clung harder to him, and even through the excited screams and yells of the children Shouyo could hear their nervous whimpering. He ruffled their orange hair, tried to calm them down, but with the children shouting around them the two only held on tighter.

“Where are my small fries?” Tooru called from beside him, and the rest of the children surrounded him in a flurry. He laughed warmly, patting children on the head gently. “Let’s go, small fries! We’re going to start with some running!”

In a few moments Shouyo’s side of the gymnasium cleared, and he was left with his children for the day. He grinned at each of them. “Chibis!” he called out over them. “Let’s sit in a nice, big circle!”

The shape ended up more lopsided than a circle – looked closer to a figure-eight, even – and Shouyo sat as close to the center as he could, each of his children taking the spot directly to his sides. Most of the children fidgeted and mumbled, but the majority obeyed the order. Shouyo grabbed a stray volleyball just a few feet away on the floor. “Let’s roll the ball to each other! Ready?”

He rolled the ball across the circle, and while the children couldn’t quite get the ball to go all the way where they wanted it, others made up for it by crawling to the center and rolling it again. The circle dissipated quickly in favor of the new spots the children crawled to. Shouyo sighed. A laugh bubbled out of him and as he heard a whistle on the other side of the gymnasium, he rose to his feet. “Let’s play!”

The practice went smoothly, for the most part. Shouyo taught the children a little bit about receiving, using a few of the soft rubber balls stored away in the gymnasium’s storage closet. They played tag and ‘Keep Up’ – where they had to keep the ball from touching the ground – and by the end, most of the toddlers either sat on the floor or on the bleachers to the side. Shouyo prided himself in having more energy than his children most days, but today he felt just as drained, and when Tooru rounded the corner he had a tough time hiding his fatigue.

“Good work today!” Tooru said in a happy voice. “The last guy could barely keep up with the kids, but it looks like you’ve got them well-handled.”

“Yeah,” Shouyo exhaled, smiled. “Having twins will do that to you.”

“I was wondering if those were your chibis,” Tooru nodded towards Mitsu and Haruto, who both had collapsed onto the gymnasium floor and were napping. “The hair gives you away, Shouyo-chan.”

Shouyo chuckled and gripped at his vibrant hair for good measure. “That’s what everyone says,” he sighed. “Do you have a little one here, too?” he scanned the crowd for a face that looked similar to Tooru’s.

“Oh, not me,” Tooru replied with a soft chuckle. “I just love volleyball.”

“I used to watch your matches all the time,” Shouyo gushed. “Never got to play the legendary Grand King, though.”

Tooru waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, I haven’t heard that nickname in years. What team did you play for, Shouyo-chan?”

“Karasuno High,” Shouyo replied. “Then I played for my university, Yuunei.”

“You must know my old friend!” Tooru replied then. “Iwaizumi Hajime. You know him?”

“We played in university together!” Shouyo affirmed.

“His little one goes here,” Tooru explained further. “That little booger over there.” Tooru gestured to a child deemed as a ‘small fry’ that busied himself by bouncing a volleyball as high as he could. “I’m Uncle Tooru to him,” he bragged.

Before Shouyo could respond, he heard the gymnasium doors slide open. “Ah, pickup time!” Tooru chirped, grabbed for Shouyo’s hand and dragged him towards the door. “This is the worst part,” he added.

“Why?” Shouyo asked.

“We have to say goodbye to the chibis and the small fries!” Tooru replied, throwing a dramatic hand to his forehead. “It’s devastating!”

A few parents approached Shouyo, noticed he was new. He chatted with them and called for their children, who – for the most part – came running as soon as he called for them. He had to chase a few stubborn toddlers around that didn’t quite want to go home yet, and despite his annoyance and fatigue he laughed while he did, scooped them up and made them giggle.

The process went quite quickly. Soon there were only a few children left – minus Shouyo’s own. Hajime hadn’t shown up yet, and the parent of a dark-haired boy with the most piercing blue eyes had yet to present themselves. “Oh,” Tooru noted, looking at the boy, “Tobio-chan is back in town.”

“Tobio-chan?” Shouyo replied. He remembered, then, his grumpy neighbor and fought a grimace. “Oh, that asshole,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, that’s the one!” Tooru laughed. “How do you know Tobio-chan?”

“He’s my new neighbor,” Shouyo sighed. “Got all up in arms because my toddlers are too loud.” He sighed.

Someone knocked on the gymnasium door, despite it being swung open. “Hello?” called a familiar voice, and Shouyo turned around to see Hajime. “Oi, Shouyo!” Hajime stepped into the gymnasium, a rare smile across his face. “Nice to see you, bud!”

“What about me?” Tooru huffed a pout, scooped Hajime’s child up into his arms. The boy laughed and kicked his feet.

“I see you every damn day, Tooru,” Hajime huffed. “It’s been years since I’ve seen Shouyo!”

Shouyo clapped him on the back in a hug. “How are you, Hajime?”

“Better than I’ve ever been,” he replied with a sigh. “What’re you doing here? I thought you and Hitoka were jumping ship and heading for the United States.”

“She left for business,” Shouyo replied, “but we decided last-minute that I should stay and raise the kids here instead.”

On cue, Mitsu and Haruto came running, grabbed at Shouyo’s legs and begged to be carried. Shouyo scooped Haruto up and Hajime reached for Mitsu. “You remember me?” Hajime asked the girl. “You’ve gotten so big!”

Mitsu shied behind Shouyo’s legs.

“Would you like to come over for dinner?” Hajime asked. “There’s so much we need to catch up on.”

“We’d love to, but I’ve got stuff to unpack at home,” Shouyo rubbed his neck with his free hand. “Can you take a rain check?”

“Next week,” Hajime smiled.

From the doorway, a man cleared his throat. “Ichiro,” he called from the doorframe.

That dark-haired boy went running toward the voice that Shouyo (sadly) recognized as the grumpy voice that had complained to him – twice – about noisy toddlers. _As if they aren’t noisy normally,_ Shouyo thought with a grimace. Still, he turned in the direction of the voice and to his dismay saw Tobio, who now looked well-rested but that grumpy expression still presented itself to him.

“The King is here!” Tooru teased from the other side of the gym, walked towards the door that Tobio stood at. “Tobio-chan, when did you get in?”

“Saturday night,” Tobio replied shortly. “Didn’t get much—”

Tobio’s eyes fell on the three matching heads of orange hair. “You,” he groaned.

“The ‘King’?” Shouyo muttered. “No…you’re not… _the_ Tobio? _Kageyama_ Tobio?!”

“That’s me,” Tobio replied simply.

“The insane setter?!” Shouyo cried, loud enough that Haruto tugged on his ear in annoyance.

“I wouldn’t say insane,” Tooru sneered. “People call him a ‘genius’, mostly.”

“But you’re such an asshole,” Shouyo mumbled.

“What did you call me?” Tobio barked.

Shouyo set Haruto down, much to the boy’s disappointment. He put a hand to his head, a laugh bubbling out of him as he tried to comprehend what he was hearing. Two of the best volleyball players in Japan – Tooru and Tobio – were in the gymnasium with Shouyo _at this very moment_ , and he worked with one of them and neighbored the other. “This is a prank,” he said finally.

“Welcome back, Tobio,” Hajime said as if it were the most natural thing in the world that he would be standing in the same room as the _King_ and the _Grand King._

“I need to sit down,” Shouyo whispered.

“You act like they’re celebrities,” Hajime teased.

“Because they _are_!” Shouyo replied.

Hajime just shook his head and wandered over to Tooru’s side. “Can you watch Aito tomorrow until I get out of work?”

“How does that sound, Aito-chan?” Tooru looked at the boy in his arms. “Dinner with Uncle Tooru?”

“Can we have dino nuggets?” Aito asked, almost nervously. Hajime shook his head.

“Of course we can!” Tooru replied, stuck his tongue out at Hajime. “Uncle Tooru is the best, right?!”

“Uncle Tooru is the best!” Aito echoed.

In the meantime, Tobio had stepped further into the gymnasium with Ichiro practically glued to his side. He walked directly up to Shouyo, that scowl still prominent, and had Shouyo recovered from his shock at learning Tobio’s identity (he knew he recognized him from somewhere, but hadn’t been able to pin it down until then), he likely would have teased something about the man asking his children to be quiet again. Instead, Tobio stopped a few feet in front of him. “So,” he said, a little awkwardly, “you’re a volleyball coach, huh?”

Shouyo just nodded.

“Ichiro’s a good setter,” Tobio said sternly. “I’d like you to have him set.”

Shouyo shook his head a bit, a little confused by the request. “Tobio,” he said finally, “Ichiro’s still a toddler. We didn’t do any official volleyball today—”

“It’s a volleyball practice, isn’t it?” Tobio replied, voice surprisingly calm and completely betraying his ever-furrowing eyebrows.

“Yes, but they’re kids—”

“My boy is going to be a setter,” Tobio said, pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you can’t coach _actual_ volleyball then I’ll have Tooru teach him.”

“No way,” Tooru called across the gymnasium. “Ichiro-chan isn’t getting any special treatment from me!”

Tobio growled under his breath. “What are you doing here, then?” he scowled back at Shouyo. “Following me? What?”

“I—I’m sorry?” Shouyo sputtered.

“If you can’t _actually_ play volleyball—”

“Oh, I can _play_ volleyball—”

“Prove it, then!” Tobio snapped. “If you can’t teach a toddler how to set, then you must not be very good at volleyball.”

“He’s a toddler!” Shouyo replied, voice rising. “I’m not going to teach a toddler how to set! I’m going to teach him the basics!”

“Setting _is_ the basics!”

“Knock it off,” Tooru said sternly. “We’ll play a three-on-three. Kei and Tadashi have been looking for a reason to play again, anyway.”

Both men caught their breath from their yelling. “Fine,” Tobio muttered finally. “I’ll take this guy,” he gestured to Hajime, “and Kei.”

“That means I get to set to Shouyo-chan!” Tooru lilted. “I think we’ll make a great pair!”

But Shouyo’s gaze remained firmly on Tobio. “You’re on,” he grumbled, and only after Tobio stormed out of the gymnasium with Ichiro following behind him did he realize that he just agreed to a volleyball match against one of the best setters in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobio didn’t believe the hype, he admitted it. And that was his fault. He’d take the blame.
> 
> But good lord, he didn’t expect this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this fic! Surprisingly this update came together really well, and I hope you all enjoy it! I've been having so much fun writing Shouyo and Tobio as parents, and Tadashi and Kei and Hajime...I just love the idea of them all being friends. It makes me smile. And I hope it makes you smile, too!
> 
> My goal is to update this fic once a week, but I've been known to run off schedule, so apologies if updates are a few days early/late! I'll try my best to keep consistent, but I make no promises.

Shouyo could barely contain his excitement during the week and a half between his match against Tobio – and the others, of course. Tooru took it upon himself to get Shouyo’s number, the only one he didn’t have of the group, and arranged to use the elementary gymnasium after hours on the following Friday, when they’d normally take down the volleyball nets for the weekend. Still, being Tobio’s neighbor didn’t get much easier – especially considering that, when Shouyo and his twins left for school on time, they almost always ended up running into Ichiro and Tobio.

Ichiro was a pleasant child, Shouyo found. He was soft-spoken and polite, and often he let children cut ahead of him in line when they were playing games at practice. Mitsu and Haruto seemed to enjoy being around him, too, as Tobio was almost always late to get Ichiro and the three of them spent quite a bit of time after practice with each other. A few times Ichiro had even spoken to Shouyo, which he took to be an anomaly with the way Tobio startled walking into the gymnasium to a full conversation between the two the day before the match.

“Oh, looks like daddy’s here!” Shouyo chirped as he rose to his feet, helped Ichiro onto his own feet. He kept up the sunshine grin as he walked Ichiro to the door Tobio leaned casually against, his face stoic seeing Ichiro’s hand wrapped around Shouyo’s pinky.

Tobio bent down and scooped Ichiro up, gave Shouyo a stern look. “Um, thanks,” he muttered in the same grumpy tone he used when they walked their children to school together involuntarily.

Still, though, Shouyo had dealt with his fair share of cranky parents who weren’t used to having to have the energy to entertain their children. Mitsu and Haruto ran to Shouyo’s sides, dodged behind his legs seeing Tobio looming over the door. “No problem!” Shouyo chirped, wearing his sunny smile despite his aggravation with his grumpy neighbor.

“So,” he muttered awkwardly, “I’ll…see you tomorrow?”

“Is that tomorrow?” Shouyo mused, as if it wasn’t on his calendar with a couple star stickers arranged around it (courtesy of Mitsu and Haruto).

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” Tobio said shortly. “That really seems like you.”

“You barely know me!” Shouyo replied with a short chuckle. He hoped it came off as annoyed as he was, being insulted like this. It seemed Tobio constantly had something to look down on him for, and he hoped that after he played against him tomorrow he could prove the asshole wrong. Still, his children clung to his legs and he wouldn’t let himself stoop to Tobio’s low with his children watching. “Well, Mitsu-chan and Haru-chan and I have to go get ice cream for a good job today at practice.”

“Ice cream!” the twins erupted in chants from below. Tobio had forgotten they were there, the way they’d tucked themselves out of sight.

“If you’ll excuse us, Tobio,” Shouyo said with that sickening smile. He waved goodbye to Ichiro, who waved back excitedly. Then, Tobio was left in the gymnasium with Tooru, who had been doing something in the back. He emerged with Aito on his shoulders, the toddler clinging to a bright pink volleyball.

“Oh, Tobio-chan!” Tooru trotted over, Aito laughing above him.

“What,” Tobio grumbled, gripped the bridge of his nose. Ichiro reached up and tried to grab for the volleyball, but Aito held it out of his reach.

“Get ready to be destroyed~!” Tooru said in a sing-song voice. “That little chibi has a superpower,” he added in a lilting voice.

“I’m not scared of a five-foot-tall moron,” Tobio replied coldly.

“You should be~!”

Hajime came in behind Tobio, ruffled Ichiro’s hair on his way past. “Tooru,” he called, “please be careful with my son.”

“Aito-chan is just having a little fun!” Tooru whined back. “Isn’t that right, Aito-chan?”

“Pink ball!” Aito cheered, and he promptly threw the ball at Ichiro.

Kageyama blocked it then glared over at Tooru. “We’re going home,” he stated. “Goodnight, Tooru. See you tomorrow.”

“Better bring your good shoes~!” Tooru sang behind him. “You’re really gonna need ‘em!”

* * *

Tobio didn’t believe the hype, he admitted it. And that was his fault. He’d take the blame.

But _good lord,_ he didn’t expect this.

Somehow Tobio’s team was trailing Shouyo’s by three or four points. Not only could Shouyo jump, like, six feet in the air on a whim, it seemed that he and Tooru had managed to do some practicing together before any of this. Tooru and Shouyo were nearly unstoppable, with Tooru’s excellent, high-arcing sets supporting Shouyo’s high-jumping fast-paced hits almost perfectly.

The children sat in the bleachers of the gymnasium, occupied by a few toys Shouyo had brought along with him. Ichiro played with them after only a bit of hesitation, a bit of nervous whining that Tobio would be so far away. Once the little girl (Mitsu, if he remembered correctly) offered Ichiro a stuffed cupcake with eyes, though, he forgot all about his uncle’s existence altogether.

“The hell kind of game are you playing?!” Tobio barked after another spike landed on the floor just past his ear.

Shouyo, who got along surprisingly well with Tooru, didn’t hear him; he’d been too busy receiving praise from the condescending Grand King. Tooru rubbed his head like a dog, or maybe a small child, and despite Shouyo being a grown ass man he seemed to be quite enjoying the attention. They laughed together like friends, with Tadashi laughing along with them playing the team’s makeshift libero, like the three had known each other for years.

Meanwhile, Tobio barked commands on his side of the net. “You need to move your feet,” he grouched to Kei, who rolled his eyes and turned his back to him. Tobio was ready to argue but instead faced Hajime.

Before he could manage to bark a command at Hajime, the latter grunted. “Don’t piss me off,” he warned, and Tobio shut his mouth.

Yuki, who had gone down for her nap right at the start of the match, woke up and immediately hollered. “Time out,” Tadashi called, and he and Kei hurried over to her. Tadashi scooped her out of her stroller and rocked her gently, while Kei leaned over his shoulder.

Shouyo couldn’t quite see the entire exchange, but he watched from where he stood with a sort of longing. He sighed, wished that he’d shared moments like that with Hitoka – but maybe not in a gymnasium like this one, maybe in the bedroom of a small home with a big backyard and a kids’ volleyball net. Instead, he’d spent one too many nights trying to rock both his children at once, trying to tell them it was okay, everything would be _okay_ , but most nights he didn’t even believe that.

“Do we want to call it?” Hajime called from across the court. Aito had run up to him during their break and was rolling a toy car up his leg.

“No!” Tobio barked before Tooru or Shouyo could weigh in. “I’m not going to lose!”

“Give it up, Tobio-chan,” Tooru sneered. “You can’t always be the best at everything.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but Mitsu and Haruto went running across the court, too, leaping up at Shouyo. He laughed warmly, ruffling each of their hair. “I think my kiddos are done playing,” Shouyo said, mostly to Tooru. “Dinner at my place? We’ve got room, and most of the boxes are unpacked!”

“Aito and I are in,” Hajime replied.

Shouyo looked hopefully up at Tooru, who laughed and slapped a gentle hand on Shouyo’s back. “Sure, Shouyo-chan. As long as I get to play with one of these boogers!” he reached down and scooped Haruto into his arms, who laughed and struggled but eventually resigned to tugging at Oikawa’s hair.

“Kei, Tadashi?” Shouyo asked. “Will you come? I’ve got an extra high chair that Yuki can use!”

They exchanged looks, and while Kei looked very much like he’d like to say no, Tadashi said, “We’ll be there!”

Lastly, Shouyo’s eyes fell on Tobio – reluctantly. He had wandered over to the bleacher, was talking quietly to Ichiro and they were gathering their things. “Oi, Tobio—” he called out, hesitating only when Tobio cast a glare over his shoulder.

“No,” he said sternly.

Shouyo frowned, turned back towards Tooru as if searching for an answer to the rude behavior. In return, Tooru just shrugged. “He doesn’t like to lose,” he said, as if that explained away getting so upset over being invited to dinner.

Shouyo maybe didn’t like him, but he still wanted to be on good terms with him. He lifted Mitsu up, set her on his shoulders and held her arms as he jogged to catch up. “Hey,” he said quietly, “Mitsu-chan and Haru-chan really enjoy Ichiro-chan’s company,” he reasoned. Tobio stopped walking and turned around, that same glare on his face.

“You didn’t tell me you could play volleyball,” he grunted sourly.

“Actually, I did,” Shouyo replied smartly. “You just didn’t believe me.”

“Whatever,” Tobio gripped the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“There’s a playset in the backyard at my house,” Shouyo continued. “We can all eat outside and let the kids play. I know we got off on the wrong foot but I’d like to make things right.”

“We’ll pass,” Tobio said, a bit angrier this time. Shouyo looked to Ichiro, who stared up at him with wide, watery eyes. Carefully Shouyo knelt down, still keeping a good grip on Mitsu. She squealed and threaded her small fingers into his hair, steadying herself.

“Ichiro-chan, would you like to come over and play with Mitsu-chan and Haru-chan?” Shouyo asked politely.

“I’m telling you _no_ ,” Tobio raised his voice. “You can’t just ask my nephew—”

“He’s your nephew?” Shouyo straightened up again, looked at Tobio curiously. “I thought he was your—”

“Yeah, everyone does,” Tobio replied with a dismissive wave. “He’s my sister’s child. She and her rat’s ass of a boyfriend weren’t taking care of him, so I went to court and got full custody. It’s really not a big deal, he looks like he’s my son anyways.”

Shouyo’s face screwed into a strange, confused expression. Which, in turn, confused Tobio. “What’s the problem?” he barked.

“Nothing,” Shouyo held his hands out in defense. Mitsu above giggled happily. “Well, you know where to find us if you change your mind later, okay?” he said with that chipper smile Tobio hated so much. How could he handle _two_ toddlers and still smile like that? Tobio only had one and he constantly felt drained. And Ichiro was a well-behaved boy.

He turned without another word and grabbed Ichiro’s hand in his own. Together they left the gymnasium while Shouyo helped with the last of the packing up; the others had done most of it during their conversation. “Oi, Shouyo,” Tadashi called, “can you help me loosen the net?”

* * *

The walk to Shouyo’s house took a lot longer with four extra adults and two extra children in tow. Hajime and Tooru fronted the pack of them, with Tadashi and Kei in the back, leaving Shouyo and the twins to walk directly in the middle. Occasionally Mitsu would turn around and look at Yuki in her stroller, staring absently up at the sky, and say something in a language that apparently only young children understood. Haruto wandered up front and decided that he wanted to walk with Aito, and promptly grabbed the boy’s hand. Even with Aito being bigger, he walked by Haruto’s side, a content smile on his face.

“Shouyo-chan,” Tooru called over his shoulder, “what were you talking about with Tobio-chan?”

“I asked him one last time if he wanted to come for dinner,” Shouyo replied with a shrug. “He’s kind of just an asshole at this point.”

“I tried to warn you!” Tooru laughed, faced forward again. He and Hajime talked quietly enough that Shouyo felt rude trying to impede on their conversation. Somehow, surrounded by people, he felt alone – even his children were preoccupied with the others around them.

By the time they arrived at the house, only one of the children was crying – a record, probably, with how many toddlers they had with them. Mitsu whined that Yuki had stolen one of her toys, which Kei calmly explained was untrue – Mitsu had dropped the toy into the stroller and Yuki decided to play with it.

“Kei, I don’t mind if your kid upsets my kid,” Shouyo said with a soft sigh.

“See, I _will_ mind if your kid upsets my kid,” Kei replied.

“Excuse him,” Tadashi piped up with a nervous smile.

They went directly to the backyard, so as to hopefully avoid irritating Tobio (and because it was gorgeous out, especially with the sun beginning to set; the summer temperature became much more bearable). Shouyo ordered Chinese to be delivered with instructions to bring it around to the side gate of the backyard. The parents lounged on the nice set of patio furniture – two small couches, one occupied by Tooru and Hajime, the other by Shouyo and Tadashi – while Kei walked around the backyard, helping Yuki play on some of the playset. Mitsu and Haruto ran around, yelling and playing tag (maybe; Shouyo couldn’t quite tell what game it was) with Aito, who didn’t yell nearly as much but wore a smile about as wide as Shouyo’s.

“So, Shouyo-chan,” Tooru asked from across the coffee table between them, “how’d you end up with a set of twins so young?”

“Beginner’s luck?” Shouyo replied, and Tadashi snorted beside him. “No, uh, their mother lives over in the United States,” he explained. “She and I had a fling in college but it didn’t really work out, and a month or so later she called me saying she was pregnant.”

“And you watch them here?” Tooru asked.

“Yup!” that sunny grin of Shouyo’s resurfaced. “She makes a lot of money at her job overseas, so it really helps me be able to do what I love,” he said with a sigh.

“How come you didn’t go pro?” Hajime asked. “I thought that was the plan.”

“You can’t go pro with toddlers,” Shouyo replied with a huff.

“Tobio-chan did,” Tooru reasoned.

“Tobio doesn’t have twins,” Shouyo countered.

“Or a soul,” Hajime muttered. They laughed together, just as Kei came up the steps of the patio.

“Honey, Yuki messed her diaper,” Kei said with a slightly-disgusted grunt. Tadashi sighed and held his hands out, took the child and held her while Kei fumbled for the diaper bag.

“Feel free to change her out here, if you want,” Shouyo said with a grin. “Or, if you want to go inside there’s a changing table in the kids’ bedroom.”

“They aren’t potty-trained?” Kei teased.

“We’re getting there,” Shouyo replied with ease, that smile only faltering momentarily. “They’re only two, Kei,” he chided.

“Yuki-chan is going to be potty trained by the time she turns two,” Tadashi teased, cooing at the baby while he carried her to the sliding glass door into the house. “We’ll be out in a minute. Thanks, Shou!”

Shouyo was about to return to the conversation with Tooru and Hajime when he heard a hesitant knock on the gate. “Oh!” he leapt up, wallet in hand. “Food’s here earlier than I expected!”

He bounded up to the gate, swung it open, had the words “What do I owe you” on the edge of his tongue – but then he saw Tobio, with a sniffling Ichiro by his side.

“Did you change your mind?” Shouyo asked with a hesitant smile.

“Ichiro really wanted to see Mitsu and Haruto,” Tobio replied sheepishly. “Uh – do you mind if he stays and plays for a little while?”

“I’m not watching your kid for you,” Shouyo replied, and a sullen look fell over both of them. God, they really _did_ look like father and son. Just as Tobio was about to turn around, Shouyo grabbed his forearm. “Hey, I’m teasing. I’m not watching your kid for you – I was inviting you to stay, Tobio.”

“Oh,” Tobio frowned slightly. “I’m, um, I’m okay.”

“Please?” Shouyo said softly. “I ordered enough food for everyone and Mitsu-chan and Haru-chan really like spending time with Ichiro-chan.”

With a bit more prodding, Shouyo swung the gate open wide and allowed Tobio and Ichiro into the backyard. “Ichiro-chan is here!” Shouyo called to the children playing on the playset. Little cheers bubbled out of each of them as they ran towards the boy, and together they laughed, resuming their game of whatever-it-was a few moments later.

Shouyo walked Tobio up onto the porch. “Take a seat, Tobio!” he chirped. “I was just about to head inside and grab something to drink. Anyone want anything?”

“Tea for me,” Tooru and Hajime said at the same time. Hajime laughed while Tooru turned his head, a seemingly shy blush spreading itself across his cheeks.

“Water is fine,” Kei murmured as he took a seat next to Tobio.

Shouyo’s eyes turned expectantly on Tobio, who looked increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. “W-water is fine for me too,” he said finally, and Shouyo smiled, turned on his heel and went into the house.

He and Tadashi walked out together a few minutes later, Tadashi carrying the drinks while Shouyo held Yuki. Tadashi set the drinks on the table and turned to grab juice boxes for the children. Shouyo squeezed onto the couch beside Kei, bouncing Yuki on his knee when he sat. “I can’t believe I’ve missed out on a year and a half of Yuki-chan’s life!” he sighed dramatically.

“Not much happened,” Kei stated as he adjusted his glasses. Tooru chuckled to himself.

“You all make me wish I had kids,” he sighed, relaxed into the couch.

“I seem to recall you telling me you never wanted kids after having to change Aito’s shitty diaper,” Hajime stated matter-of-factly. Shouyo laughed along with Tooru, and even Tobio let a small snicker leave his lips.

“Juice!” Tadashi called as he returned from inside the house, carrying four juice boxes and a sippy cup of milk. He gave the sippy cup to Shouyo while the rest of the children stampeded onto the deck, each reaching for a juice box. Just as quickly they piled back off the porch in favor of a game of hide and seek.

The food arrived not much later, and the group of them filed inside to eat. Shouyo laid the various trays of rice and noodles on the counter, along with the entrees and a few two liters of soda. “What do we owe you?” Tooru asked as they settled at the table. Mitsu and Haruto sat in their high chairs just a bit further from the table, and Yuki sat in one of the smaller high chairs the twins had used when they were a bit younger. Tadashi fed her mashed-up rice with some of the soft vegetables. Ichiro sat in Tobio’s lap, Aito in Tooru’s, and the entire atmosphere felt oddly like home.

“Dinner’s on me,” Shouyo replied, and with minimal protests Tooru and the others tucked their wallets away.

“So, Tobio-chan,” Tooru helped Aito eat another forkful of food, “how’s your sister?”

Tobio tensed. “Come on, Tooru,” Hajime scolded from across the table, “do you have to talk about her right now? We’re trying to eat.”

“The twins’ birthday is coming up, isn’t it?” Kei changed the subject with ease. “Shouyo, are you throwing a birthday party?”

“Yeah!” Shouyo said excitedly while he took turns helping his children with their food. “We haven’t sent out invitations yet, but it’ll be during the first weekend of July.”

“How are you planning on celebrating your birthday?” Tadashi asked, his speech lilted as he tried to speak and convince his daughter to open her mouth at the same time. He mouthed an ‘o’ shape at her, and she laughed in response.

“Probably with my babies,” Shouyo replied with a smile over in Tadashi’s direction. “We’ll maybe make a cake, or some cookies—”

“Cake!” Mitsu bubbled.

“Cake it is,” Shouyo laughed.

“Hajime and I can watch the kids if you want a day off,” Tooru said.

“Don’t offer me up for babysitting duty,” Hajime warned.

“What? Don’t you think Shouyo-chan wants a day off to just relax a little?”

“I appreciate the offer, Tooru, but I think we’ll be alright,” Shouyo said with a small smile.

“When’s your birthday?” Tobio asked, a little lost in the conversation.

“The twenty-first,” Shouyo replied. “I’ll officially be twenty-five!”

“He looks a lot younger than that, doesn’t he?” Kei mentioned off-handedly to Tobio.

“Oh shut up,” Shouyo replied in a teasing tone.

“I could watch them,” Tobio offered suddenly. All eyes fell on him, including Mitsu and Haruto, who almost looked a bit frightened by the idea.

“That’s okay! Really,” Shouyo said with a smile. “I appreciate your offers, but my babies and I will have a great day on my birthday!”

“Is Hitoka coming into town?” Hajime asked.

“Hitoka?” Tobio questioned.

“Their mother,” Kei said softly, gestured to the twins.

“She’ll be here for the birthday party,” Shouyo assured. “I don’t know if she’ll be here for my birthday, though.”

“I thought Shouyo was single,” Tobio murmured back, a bit confused.

“He is,” Kei replied, then diverted his attention to Yuki, who had spontaneously burst into tears. Kei rose from the table and scooped her out of the high chair, humming to her softly as he took her outside. Tobio wondered idly if Kei had just been looking for a reason to leave the conversation.

“Shouyo-chan, who is Hitoka?” Tooru asked, eyes wide as he leaned closer to Shouyo.

“Their mother,” Shouyo replied simply, reached out and ruffled each of their hair.

“Mama!” Haruto chirped.

“She lives in the United States for about ten months out of the year,” he explained to Tooru. “She sends money over so I can care for the kids when she’s away.”

“So that’s how he can afford this place,” Tobio muttered under his breath.

“Anyways,” Shouyo shook his head, “you’re all invited to come over for the birthday party! A couple of my friends from high school will be bringing their daughter over, too,” he explained with a bright smile.

“How thoughtful!” Tooru chirped.

“We’ll be here,” Hajime said, smiling over the table at Aito.

“So will we!” Tadashi affirmed. “Well, Yuki and I will be. I don’t know if Kei will want to.”

Shouyo looked over at Tobio and Ichiro then. “You and Ichiro-chan are invited too, Tobio,” he said with that kind smile that Tobio was starting to get used to.

“We couldn’t impede like that—” Tobio started, but Ichiro kicked his legs in excitement and a smile crept onto his face.

“Please,” Shouyo waved his hand, “the more the merrier.”

Tobio flushed. He felt increasingly guilty for his rude behavior thus far, and he decided that he really, truly owed Shouyo something to make up for it.

* * *

The morning of Shouyo’s birthday, he woke up with a strong headache. Partly due to the sleep he lost the night before, Shouyo thought stubbornly, since he’d had to stay up late scrubbing permanent marker from the walls that Haruto and Mitsu had so graciously left for him. Mitsu and Haruto were already awake, if their shrill voices were any sort of indicator. Shouyo groaned, gripped his head, padded down the stairs in his pajamas.

“Happy bird day!” Mitsu cried, waving a stuffed bird toy around.

“Happy bird day!” Haruto mimicked, waving a different toy – an elephant – with the same excitement.

Shouyo laughed, despite his headache, and kneeled down to press a kiss to each of their foreheads. “Thank you, cuties!” he said happily. “Who wants bird day pancakes?”

They erupted into simultaneous screams for pancakes, and nearly immediately Shouyo regretted offering it – but he’d already made the batter the night before, and really, it wouldn’t take very long. He had just poured some batter onto the griddle and gotten Mitsu and Haruto into their high chairs when a knock came at the door.

Shouyo grimaced. Tobio hadn’t stormed his way to Shouyo’s door since their scrimmage, and they’d even been getting along (only slightly), so when he saw Tobio on the outside of his door with Ichiro at his side, he couldn’t help but feel like they’d taken four steps back in their friendship – or whatever it was. “Hey Tobio,” Shouyo yawned, “I’m really sorry they’re being loud, it’s just—”

“I’m not here for that,” Tobio corrected, a little sheepishly. Ichiro held up a handmade card, a shy smile on his face. “Ah, Ichiro insisted we bring you the card before school today,” he said, rubbed his neck. “Happy birthday, Shouyo.”

“Oh!” Shouyo looked between the two in shock. “I—um, thank you!” He gratefully took the card from Ichiro and ruffled his hair a little. “Did you two want to come in for pancakes?”

“Pancakes!” Ichiro cried out uncharacteristically.

“If we’re not intruding,” Tobio said hesitantly. “That, um…sounds nice. Thank you for the offer.”

Shouyo stepped aside and welcomed the two into the house, while Haruto and Mitsu pounded their chubby fists on their high chairs in demand for the pancakes to cook faster. Shouyo flipped the pancakes on the stove – not even burnt, look at that – and plated one for each of the kids. Tobio sat with Ichiro in his lap at the dining table, and he heard shy voices conversing as Tobio tried to draw conversation out of his twins.

“They’re a little shy,” Shouyo called from the kitchen after Tobio’s third failed conversation topic – Kool Aid. He really had been scraping the bottom of the bucket.

“But they like Tooru,” Tobio replied, almost…pouting. Shouyo set a stack of pancakes to the side of the single pancake for Ichiro, then turned and made his own plate.

“Tooru is practically a child himself,” Shouyo replied with an offhanded wave. “They’ll warm up to you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

That was the problem. Tobio _was_ worried about it, and he didn’t quite understand why. Since he and Ichiro had come over for dinner that night, he and Shouyo had actually had some regular conversations – even played a little volleyball together a few times after the kids’ practices were done. Still, with all the time they’d spent together over the past few weeks or so, Mitsu and Haruto shied away behind Shouyo whenever Tobio approached.

“Hey, Tobio,” Shouyo said as he wandered back into the dining area with his own plate of pancakes, “would you mind walking the kids to school today? I’ve got a massive headache and—”

“Sure,” Tobio said with a slight nod.

“Can you handle them?” Shouyo asked with a teasing smile, and Tobio sent a playful glare back.

“They’re kids. I can manage.”

“You’re a life saver,” Shouyo sighed gratefully. “Mitsu-chan, Haru-chan, will you be good for Tobio-san while he walks you to school today?”

The twins looked at each other, then back up at Shouyo, who wore a hopeful smile. The blubbering started from Haruto first, his lip trembling as a bout of tears threatened to spill. Mitsu wasn’t far behind, her own lip trembling as big crocodile tears spilled down her cheeks. “Oh no,” Shouyo murmured.

And then, in unison, they erupted into a fit of tears and sniffles and loud wails.

Shouyo gripped the edge of the counter, the other hand meeting his forehead. “Jesus,” he grumbled, though he kept that smile plastered on his face even through a grimace of pain. “Okay, okay,” he calmed them, “I’ll walk with you. Is that okay?”

It took more than that to calm their blubbering, but eventually Shouyo could hear again as their tears calmed. Tobio looked increasingly uncomfortable, as did Ichiro, but Shouyo didn’t quite have time to apologize to them for his children. He’d never apologize for his children.

Shouyo let them out of their respective high chairs. “Go get dressed, kiddos!” he said with a chipper smile. “Daddy will get your backpacks ready for school!”

As they ran off, Shouyo wandered back into the kitchen to fish for some ibuprofen. Tobio found his way into the kitchen as well, leaned up against the counter. “Your kids don’t like me,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Shouyo sighed and rubbed at his temple while he debated whether to take one pill or two. “They’re shy,” he repeated.

“No,” Tobio shook his head, “they think I’m scary.”

“Then don’t look so scary.”

“It’s just my face!” Tobio barked, loudly enough to make Shouyo wince. “Sorry,” he added.

“It’s fine, I’ll just walk them to school and come home and take a nap,” Shouyo grumbled as he popped two pills into his mouth and stuck his head under the faucet to swallow them down.

“What about practice?”

“I’ll call Tooru and let him know I won’t make it.”

Tobio nodded to himself, sighed softly. “Thank you for breakfast,” he said finally. “It was…very good.”

Shouyo smiled up at him vaguely. “I’ve been told I make good pancakes,” he said with a teasing lilt.

“Go get ready, I can help the kids into their shoes.”

“You’re a life saver,” Shouyo said again with a genuine smile. He vanished up the stairs of the town home just as Mitsu and Haruto came stomping out of the bedroom, clothing on every which way aside from correctly.

Tobio kneeled down. “M-Mitsu chan, your shirt is all messy,” he said, reached for the little girl’s hand. She drew back nervously, her lip trembling again. “It’s okay,” Tobio assured, and he tried to reassure the girl with a smile, but instead managed to send those crocodile tears spilling over her cheeks again. “Please don’t cry!” Tobio said quickly.

Haruto didn’t cry this time, but he did hide behind Mitsu, despite being a bit taller than her. “Haru-chan,” Tobio offered him his hand instead, “can I help you put your shoes on?”

“Daddy,” Haruto stomped his foot stubbornly.

“Daddy is getting ready upstairs,” Tobio replied. “Can Uncle Tobio help you?”

“No!” Haruto shouted, and he stuck his tongue out. Mitsu followed suit.

“Uncle,” Ichiro tugged Tobio’s sleeve from beside him. Tobio looked over and saw his own boy ready to cry.

“What is it, Ichiro?” Tobio asked gently.

“School time!”

“We’re leaving in a minute, Ichiro. Don’t worry.”

Mitsu ran around in her inside-out, stained shirt with a penguin on the front. Her skirt very much didn’t match, but it was too late now to do anything about it. Tobio managed to scoop her up, and with minimal protest she resigned herself to her fate, though those silent tears continued to spill over her plump cheeks.

Shouyo came down the stairs a few minutes later. “Tobio, how are the—”

Tobio sat with both twins in front of him on the floor, trying to force the shoes on their feet – but neither of them would sit still long enough to allow it. Mitsu saw Shouyo first, and she struggled out of Tobio’s grasp to run to his side. “Daddy!” she cried out.

“Oh, Mitsu-chan, your shirt!” Shouyo laughed calmly. “C’mon, let’s go get you changed.”

“Shouyo, there’s no time—”

“Haru-chan, your shirt and pants don’t match!”

Tobio sighed, checked his watch. Ichiro sat patiently on the floor next to him while they waited. To Tobio’s surprise, not even a minute later he emerged from the downstairs bedroom with two well-clothed toddlers – shoes on their feet and all. “We need to leave right now,” Tobio said, though he was still a bit in shock at Shouyo’s managing of two toddlers.

“You heard Tobio-san,” Shouyo said. “Let’s go! Come on, Mitsu-chan, Haru-chan!”

Despite the rush they’d been in before they left, they had a few extra minutes to get to school on time. Like they tended to, Mitsu and Haruto wandered just a few steps ahead with Ichiro, while Shouyo and Tobio walked alongside each other. “How do you do that?” Tobio asked in bewilderment as they left the house.

“Do what?” Shouyo hummed in response. Had he not mentioned to Tobio that he had a headache, Tobio would have never even known.

“Get them dressed in under a minute,” Tobio said with an exasperated sigh. “Ichiro is a good boy and it takes me almost ten minutes to get him ready.”

“Bribery,” Shouyo replied simply.

“Hah?”

“I have a little sticker calendar hanging in their room,” Shouyo said with a soft smile. “Every day we get dressed quick I let them pick a sticker to put on the calendar. Sometimes it takes longer for them to pick out a sticker than to get dressed,” he said with a short laugh.

Tobio looked ahead of them towards the children, who happily hopped over the cracks in the sidewalk. “I’m sorry I called you a bad parent,” he said finally.

Shouyo laughed a bit more. “Yeah, I’m doing pretty damn well on my own, Tobio.”

“You are,” Tobio affirmed. “I don’t know if I could manage twins like you do.”

“I’m not all alone,” Shouyo insisted. “Hitoka may not be around physically, but her financial support does wonders. I don’t need to work if I don’t want to,” he said with a shrug.

“So why do you?”

“Well, it’s a lame story,” Shouyo rubbed his neck with a sheepish smile. “When Hitoka got pregnant, it was just after I got offered a deal to play for the country’s Olympic volleyball team. And, well, I decided my kids were more important than my dream.”

“You—” Tobio’s jaw hung open. “You…got scouted for the Japanese Olympic volleyball team, and _you turned it down_?!” he hissed.

Shouyo shrugged to himself. “I’ve got two little balls of sunshine, Tobio, and I wouldn’t trade anything to spend time with them. Besides,” he said with a teasing smirk, “if I’d have taken the offer I’d have had to play on the same team as the _King_.”

Tobio frowned, suddenly feeling like a scummy parental figure himself. He dragged Ichiro along with him to various countries and such for competition, and he never really took the time to try and understand how the boy must have felt. “Not to say that you’re a bad parent to Ichiro-chan,” Shouyo insisted, noticing Tobio’s furrowed brow. “It was just that, well, Hitoka wanted to live in America. And I wanted to play volleyball for Japan. One of us had to give, you know?”

“Why did it have to be you?” Tobio asked in a quiet voice.

“Because I offered,” Shouyo replied easily. “I mean, I got to live my dream for a while there. Played volleyball, went to Nationals in high school three years in a row. Stood on the same court as the Little Giant,” he rambled a bit. “Hitoka hadn’t really lived before then, and I didn’t want an unplanned pregnancy to get in the way.”

“Are you two still together?” Tobio asked curiously, just as they rounded the corner to the school.

“As mother and father, yes,” Shouyo said with a smile, “but we broke up before Hitoka even knew about the babies.”

“Oh.”

“It’s all super convoluted,” Shouyo sighed. “Do you mind walking the kids the rest of the way, Tobio?”

Tobio startled, then gave a quick nod. “I can manage.”

“Thank you!” Shouyo chirped, gave a brief wave, and turned around. “I seriously owe you!”

 _Happy birthday,_ Tobio meant to call after him, but he let him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this update! I'm having so much fun writing these characters as parents, ahh the entire idea makes my whole heart melt.
> 
> Please let me know what you liked/didn't like in the comments! I'm always so excited to receive comments and kudos from you guys! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobio thought about taking Mitsu and Haruto to his house, but he didn’t have enough high chairs for all three of them, so instead he walked them up to Shouyo’s door. He brought his knuckle to the door hesitantly, hoped that Shouyo wasn’t still sleeping, and knocked four times.
> 
> A woman answered the door. She was short, shorter than Shouyo even, and had bright blonde hair tucked into a messy bun. She frowned, looked down and saw Mitsu and Haruto, who screamed and laughed and cried, and her frown dissipated easily as she scooped them into her arms. “Mama!” they cried, peppering her face with sloppy kisses, while she returned them, laughing all the same.
> 
> “You must be Tobio,” she said warmly, stepped aside so he could come in. “I’m Hitoka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! I can't help myself updating this more than once a week - it's seriously so fun to write. I'm so glad you all are enjoying this fic so far! I've gotten some of the sweetest comments ever and I couldn't be happier. So, thank you!
> 
> And also, thank you for continuing to read! I hope you enjoy future chapters as much as I enjoy writing them.

It was a hassle getting the twins home after practice.

Tobio had called twice, texted four times, but wherever Shouyo was he didn’t have his phone on him, and so Tobio resigned himself to his fate of taking Mitsu and Haruto home. There were many tears shed at the realization that daddy wasn’t at volleyball practice, and many more when the twins realized that meant Tobio would be taking them home alone; but those tears subsided finally when Tobio suggested ice cream, a handy trick Shouyo himself had taught him.

The place itself was small, just a hole-in-the-wall type ice cream parlor, but Shouyo had promised it was a good one the week before when they stopped for ice cream together after practice. The owner was friendly – Yuu was his name, if Tobio remembered correctly from his sloppy handwritten nametag – and he somehow remembered Tobio’s name, despite him only being there the one time with Shouyo.

“Tobio!” he called out in a friendly manner when he stepped into the shop, three children in tow. “Oh, Shouyo not here?”

“It’s his birthday,” Tobio replied.

“I’ll have to call him,” Yuu mused. “What can I get for you?”

“Chock chip!” Mitsu called from below.

“Chock chip!” Haruto mimicked.

Yuu laughed, already scooping out small to-go containers for them with chocolate chip ice cream. “For you, Ichiro-chan?” he asked sweetly as he peered over the display cases. Ichiro smiled hesitantly up at him, then waddled in front of the cases to try and decide – before finally resigning to the fact that he couldn’t see and reaching up at Tobio’s feet.

Tobio lifted him carefully, walked with him patiently as he tried to decide on a flavor. “Blueberry,” Ichiro said finally, but there were no blueberry flavors in sight; Tobio glanced up at Yuu, who smiled in response.

“Blueberry it is!” he said with that cheeky smile, and instead scooped some of the vibrant blue moon ice cream flavor into a to-go cup. “And for you, Tobio?” Yuu leaned over, his elbow on the top of the display case a little uncomfortably with how short he was.

“Nothing for me,” he said, but changed his mind immediately after. “Actually, can you get me some of that kind Shouyo likes?”

“A birthday gift, huh?” Yuu said with a vague smile, scooping out some of the strawberry cheesecake ice cream. For some reason, it made Tobio’s cheeks flush. “Your ice cream’s on the house today. Tell Shouyo I said happy birthday, if I forget to call!”

“How will I know if you forget to call?” Tobio replied, his wallet already in hand. Yuu packed the to-go cups into a plastic bag while Tobio slipped forty dollars into the tip jar.

“I don’t know – read my mind or something!” Yuu laughed, having not noticed the kind gesture. Tobio knew that if he saw him do it, Yuu would likely force it back into his hands. Whatever, he made far too much money as a volleyball player than he’d ever need.

He bid Yuu farewell as the four of them scrambled to get out the door or the shack and back on the path towards their houses. In the midsummer heat, the ice cream threatened to melt even the few blocks they needed to walk, but thankfully by the time they made it home (no crying this time, surprisingly enough, but a few cranky whines) it was still solid enough to eat. Tobio thought about taking Mitsu and Haruto to his house, but he didn’t have enough high chairs for all three of them, so instead he walked them up to Shouyo’s door. He brought his knuckle to the door hesitantly, hoped that Shouyo wasn’t still sleeping, and knocked four times.

A woman answered the door. She was short, shorter than Shouyo even, and had bright blonde hair tucked into a messy bun. She frowned, looked down and saw Mitsu and Haruto, who screamed and laughed and cried, and her frown dissipated easily as she scooped them into her arms. “Mama!” they cried, peppering her face with sloppy kisses, while she returned them, laughing all the same.

“You must be Tobio,” she said warmly, stepped aside so he could come in. “I’m Hitoka.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Tobio replied, but his voice was strained. Ichiro tugged his shirt sleeve below and wordlessly he hoisted Ichiro into his arms. “This is my nephew, Ichiro,” he looked at him instead of her. At least then he felt he could smile and not have it look so painful.

“Is that you, Tobio?” Shouyo called from further in the townhouse. Tobio stepped into view and Shouyo’s entire face lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree in summer, and Tobio’s cheeks flushed just slightly. “Oh! What did you stop for?”

“Ice cream,” Tobio replied, handed over the plain grocery bag. “I got you some.”

“How sweet of you,” Shouyo lilted, taking the bag into the kitchen. “Did Yuu say anything?” he called while he rifled through drawers, digging out spoons.

“Only to tell you happy birthday in case he forgot,” Tobio replied. Ichiro kicked his feet lightly, mumbled a soft ‘down, uncle’, and when Tobio placed him on his feet he followed Shouyo into the kitchen.

Shouyo startled when Ichiro grabbed at his pant leg but visibly relaxed, leaning down to ruffle the boy’s hair. “What kind of ice cream did you get, Ichiro-chan?” he asked, taking the spoons and the ice cream cups into the dining area.

“Blueberry!” Ichiro said with a sweet smile. Tobio smiled as well; something about Shouyo making his boy smile so genuinely warmed his heart.

Hitoka cleared her throat beside Tobio, the twins struggling in her arms to be set down for ice cream. “How did you and Shouyo meet?” she asked over the sounds of struggling twins, and ultimately she placed them on the floor. They ran towards the table and hopped up to see Shouyo putting spoons into cups.

“I live right next door,” Tobio nodded in the direction of his house. “My boy, Ichiro, and the twins go to the same school.”

“Oh, a walking buddy!” she chirped. Her voice sounded happy, like Shouyo’s, and Tobio wondered if they’d broken up because they were too similar. He supposed maybe he’d ask Shouyo another time.

Shouyo gracefully began delivering ice creams, not bothering with high chairs this time. It got messy quickly; Mitsu and Haruto wore most of their ice cream on their shirts. Ichiro, even, had a ring of bright blue ice cream around his lips, and a few spoonfuls had landed on his own clothing. Tobio disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a wet paper towel to wipe his boy’s face, and without really a second thought on the matter he wiped Mitsu’s and Haruto’s faces as well. They struggled just a bit, but with ice cream to keep their minds and mouths busy, there were no tears to be shed.

Shouyo settled on the couch, Hitoka by his side as he ate his ice cream. “You really didn’t have to do this, Tobio,” he said with a kind smile. “Thank you.”

Tobio flushed as he casually dropped into the chair next to the couch. “Ah, it’s not a big deal,” he said quietly. “I couldn’t get the twins to agree to walk with me without bribery.”

“See! Bribery works!” Shouyo laughed, Hitoka joining a second later hesitantly. After a moment he turned her. “Hitoka, the guest room’s all set up for you. Are you staying here?”

“I’d like to,” Hitoka mused in response. Tobio turned his attention to the toddlers at the table, whose chubby cheeks barely were visible from how small they were in their chairs. Ichiro watched while Mitsu and Haruto forgot their ice cream in favor of tugging at each other’s hair, and while Shouyo and Hitoka discussed the birthday plans he rose from the chair.

He didn’t even have to say anything – the second Tobio loomed over the table, Mitsu and Haruto immediately let go of each other. Tobio frowned; Ichiro had never been so afraid of him. Then again, though, Ichiro had to spend the first year and a half of his life under his sister’s care. Tobio certainly knew he wasn’t the _best_ option, but seeing Shouyo’s kids react to him like this really brought to light the difference in their parenting styles. Tobio had always thought he was decent at what he did; Ichiro was smart and polite and quiet, for the most part. But well, seeing Shouyo’s kids act more like toddlers and less like adults gave him a new perspective.

Ichiro had loosened up considerably, though, since Shouyo and his children moved in. He noticed his boy talking more to the children around them, playing games of tag and hide and seek when he came to pick Ichiro up from volleyball. It troubled Tobio at first, if he was honest with himself. He thought that maybe Ichiro would adopt their behaviors, their loud mouths and fumbling feet and overt curiosity about everything. And then, with a heavy heart, he realized that’s how toddlers should be.

Tobio ruffled Ichiro’s hair and returned to his spot in the living area, still keeping an eye on the children in case any of them choked. Hitoka and Shouyo sat closer now, Shouyo’s arm around her shoulders on the couch. They certainly didn’t _look_ broken up, Tobio thought (with a certain stubbornness that he couldn’t quite reason out in his head). “I don’t want to intrude,” Tobio said when the conversation lulled. “Ichiro and I are going to head out soon.”

“Oh, Tobio!” Hitoka said suddenly, threw her fist to her open palm in realization. “Could you babysit the twins tonight? Shouyo and I were going to go to dinner.”

Tobio looked between the two of them. Shouyo wore a sheepish smile, Hitoka with bright eyes and a smile just as warm. For some reason it didn’t suit her as well. “Ah…” Shouyo rubbed his neck. “I know I said the twins and I were gonna stay in, but that’s before Hitoka surprised me today.”

“Sure,” Tobio nodded once. “We can watch them.”

“You’re amazing,” Shouyo breathed out and leapt to his feet. “C’mon, I’ll show you where all the toys are and stuff.”

* * *

Tobio regretted agreeing to this the second Hitoka and Shouyo left, having gone through the backyard so maybe Tobio could get a few moments of silence before the twins began their inevitable screams and sobs that they’d been left home alone.

Shouyo left a sticky note on the counter with two phone numbers – one for a man named Sawamura, another for a man named Koushi. He assured that if Tobio called those numbers he could get some help with the twins if they got to be too much, but some stubborn part of Tobio really wanted to prove himself without help. He wanted to prove both to himself and Shouyo that he could care for toddlers who _acted_ like actual toddlers.

And now, well, he regretted it.

Mitsu and Haruto ran rampant, diapers forgone in the twenty seconds they’d been alone in their room while Tobio filled a pot with water to make macaroni and cheese. Ichiro chased after them without a shirt on, hesitant laughter bubbling out of him as he followed them through the town home.

 _“They like to do that sometimes,”_ he could hear Shouyo in his mind, laughing at the predicament he found himself in. He sighed, placed the pot on the stove, and calmly walked back into the living room.

He replayed Shouyo’s orders in his head: bathtime at seven-thirty, bedtime at eight, and the twins loved Toy Story – but only the second one. Shouyo had put on the movie just before he and Hitoka left, but now it was almost done and the twins were quite obviously no longer interested. “Mitsu-chan, Haru-chan!” he called in his sweetest voice, but still he must have sounded stern, because Haruto ran directly into Mitsu when she stopped dead in her tracks. Lips trembled and Tobio feared the worst.

“We need to keep our diapers on, okay?” he spoke calmly, in his low voice he used to help lull Ichiro to sleep on the noisiest and most restless of nights.

Mitsu bobbed her head up and down, sniffling quietly. Haruto peeked his head around her, not nearly as frightened-looking; in fact, his eyes were blown wide with curiosity. Ichiro slowed to a stop next to Haruto, looking expectantly up at Tobio. “Ichiro, where did your shirt go?” he asked in that same tone.

Ichiro pointed towards the downstairs bathroom. Tobio ruffled his hair, cupped his cheek delicately and smiled. He then reached over, hesitantly, and ruffled each of the twins’ wild curly hair.

Things went better after he wrestled the twins into their diapers. He nearly burnt the mac and cheese, in the process, but the kids didn’t seem to mind if the noodles were a bit mushier. He sat with them at the table, ate a microwave dinner from the freezer as the credits began playing on the movie. It wasn’t seven thirty yet, but Tobio wanted to bathe the kids before they sat down for another movie. Mitsu and Haruto bathed together while Ichiro fumbled with a few toy cars by the side of the tub. The twins liked splashing each other, and Tobio, too, but they were surprisingly tame in his company. He rubbed shampoo delicately into their hair; the only practical skill setting in volleyball had given him was his delicate fingers. Haruto began to doze off even in the tub, and after he lifted them each out of the tub and wrapped them in their animal-themed blankets, Haruto fell asleep being carried back to the living area. Tobio dug through Shouyo’s movie collection, found there were so many more to choose from than his own collection. He put on a random princess movie (with Mitsu’s help selecting) and wandered into the downstairs bedroom to pick out pajamas.

Dressing a sleepy Haruto was much easier than dressing a rambunctious Haruto, Tobio found with a sigh of relief. He barely even struggled when Tobio put a new diaper on him for the evening, and the most trouble Haruto gave him was when Tobio asked the boy to lift his arms and he whined he was too tired to. Mitsu was even easier; she preferred night dresses to pants, Shouyo explained before he left, and getting her head through her Elsa nightie was a breeze. Ichiro dressed himself in his pajamas – the pants were inside out, but Tobio didn’t bother fixing them – and together they settled on the couch.

Bedtime came and went, but Mitsu sat leaned against Tobio with her wet hair brushing along his side as she shimmied beside him to get comfortable. Eventually he got up, searching for rubber ties to braid her hair while she and Ichiro followed him like sleepy ducklings. He didn’t even notice until he turned abruptly and nearly tripped over Ichiro, who just smiled his sleepy smile up at him. He found a few pink rubber bands and sat the kids back down in front of the television after turning off the lights. Ichiro curled up at Tobio’s side, using the side of his thigh as a pillow.

Gently Tobio raked his fingers through Mitsu’s hair, then parted it down the middle. It was almost dry now, which made it a little harder to braid, but still he did his best. In the end he made the braids tight enough to stay in but loose enough to not be uncomfortable when she went to sleep. Mitsu didn’t struggle in his lap, and part of him wondered if that was testament to the bath, her tiredness, or maybe she simply had warmed up to him.

Mitsu eventually curled herself in Tobio’s arms, fell asleep with her head on his shoulder. As the movie ended he lifted her delicately, trying his best not to make her stir. He nearly tripped on one of Ichiro’s toy cars on the way to the bedroom, luckily catching himself at the last second. Mitsu mumbled something incoherent in his ear, but she didn’t awaken, and for that Tobio was grateful. Shortly after he laid her in her bed, he scooped Haruto up from the living chair and placed him in his own bed.

When he finally sat down on the couch again, Ichiro was sitting up and looking at him. “Go to sleep,” he cooed in that soft voice, raked his fingers through Ichiro’s hair for knots.

“I want to go home,” Ichiro mumbled.

“We’ll go home later,” Tobio replied quietly. He opened his arms, welcomed Ichiro into his lap like Mitsu had been just minutes ago. Hesitantly Ichiro placed himself in Tobio’s arms, and Tobio continued to comb through his hair, placing soft kisses on his face. “What do you want to watch?”

“Princesses,” he pointed at the screen. They were halfway through the movie _Tangled._

“Okay, I’ll leave this on.”

Ichiro was still awake by the time Shouyo and Hitoka got home. They kept their voices low, looked around for the toddlers. “Tobio,” Shouyo said hesitantly, “where are the kids?”

“In bed?” Tobio replied quietly. “I put them to bed, like you asked.”

“They never let anyone but me put them to bed,” Shouyo mumbled, mostly to himself, but Tobio heard and felt a small surge of pride.

Hitoka sat in the living chair across from the couch, watched Tobio comb through Ichiro’s hair lazily. Ichiro’s eyes closed and reopened like he struggled to stay awake. “Thank you for watching them,” she said softly. “Were they any trouble?”

“Not at all,” Tobio replied as Shouyo took a seat beside him and Ichiro on the couch. “We had dinner, took baths, and went to bed.”

“I’m surprised you could handle them,” Shouyo teased beside him, leaned over and nudged his shoulder gently. Tobio blushed, hoped Shouyo couldn’t see it in the dark of the room.

“Home,” Ichiro urged quietly in Tobio’s arms.

“He’s antsy to go to sleep,” Tobio said with a soft smile. “We’ll get out of your hair.”

“Oh,” Shouyo forced himself back to his feet and stretched his arms. “Thanks for watching them. What do I owe you?”

“Shouyo, you don’t need to pay me,” Tobio said with a quiet sigh as he hoisted himself to his feet, Ichiro still firmly in his arms.

“Please, you watched three toddlers,” Shouyo smiled. “That’s gotta be a lot of work.”

“Seriously, I’m not taking your money,” Tobio replied more sternly. “Just get the kids something they’ll like. Okay?”

Shouyo sighed, walking him and Ichiro to the door. “You’re really stubborn, you know that?” he said with a smile that almost looked fond. “Ichiro-chan, what’s your favorite animal?”

Ichiro peered up at Tobio, maybe looking for an answer, but Tobio nodded encouragingly. Shyly, the boy looked back to Shouyo and whispered, “Hippos.”

“Hippos?” Shouyo smiled to Tobio. “How unique,” he chirped.

“Ichiro likes watching the nature channel with me,” Tobio explained with a gentle smile as he brushed Ichiro’s hair out of his face. “He’s got a thousand different favorite animals, but today it’s hippos.”

Tobio opened the front door with only a bit of struggle. Ichiro was a little big, and opening the door around him was a bit of a process. Shouyo leaned against the door frame, and with final waves and soft goodbyes, he watched them go back to their house next door.

A few days later, Tobio and Ichiro were walking out the door for school, Ichiro with his tiny backpack over his shoulders, when they nearly stepped directly on a hippo stuffed animal with a huge bow around its neck. Ichiro screamed in delight, tried to pick it up but it was just a bit too big for him to carry. “Uncle!” he screamed. “Uncle, uncle!”

Tobio glanced over at the house next door, and he saw Shouyo sitting out on his front patio, a mug of coffee in his hands. Shouyo looked over hearing Ichiro screaming, and he smiled, gave a quick wave and a nod before Hitoka joined him outside with the twins. Tobio let a small laugh leave him. “Come on, Ichiro, let’s bring this in the house.”

* * *

Just after school the day before the birthday party, Tobio came and picked up Ichiro. Surprisingly, he was on time for pick-up; more than half the toddlers were still inside waiting for their parents. Still, Tobio picked Ichiro out of the crowd with ease. “Shouyo,” he called out, approaching the man who appeared to be in a conversation with Tooru (knowing Tooru it was probably a useless conversation anyway). Shouyo turned his direction and smiled that warm smile he’d come to enjoy so much.

“Hey, Tobio! You’re early,” he noted with a cheeky grin.

“Ichiro and I have to go shopping,” he replied with a soft smile of his own that he just couldn’t contain. “What do the twins like?”

“I’m sure whatever you and Ichiro-chan come up with will be great,” Shouyo said. His smile never receded, not for a moment, and Tobio wondered if his mouth hurt.

“I got them a drumset,” Tooru said over Tobio’s shoulder, and Shouyo flushed a bit and rubbed his neck sheepishly.

“Sorry in advance for the noise,” Shouyo said with a laugh.

Mitsu and Haruto came running for Shouyo, all sniffles and tears. “What’s wrong?” Shouyo bent down, and Mitsu went to whisper in his ear. “Oh, oh boy,” Shouyo straightened up, that smile faltering now. “Seems one of the chibis had an accident. I’ll see you tomorrow, Tobio!”

Shouyo took off towards a little boy with a puddle around him, sobbing and angrily scrubbing at his crying eyes. Tobio watched as he delicately helped the boy to his feet, cringed remembering when Ichiro wasn’t potty trained.

“You have feelings for him,” Tooru stated bluntly.

“Do not,” Tobio huffed back, though his cheeks dusted themselves a disagreeing pink at the statement.

“Tobio-chan,” Tooru lilted in that annoying voice, “you _really_ like him.”

“He’s my neighbor.”

“Then why do you look at him like that?”

“Uncle likes Uncle Shouyo?” Ichiro puzzled below him.

“Look what you did,” Tobio sighed, leaned down and ruffled Ichiro’s hair. “What should we get the twins for their birthday, Ichi?”

“Giraffe,” Ichiro mused. Giraffes were his new favorite animal this week.

“Would the twins like stuffed animals?” Tobio asked, peering up at Tooru.

“I don’t know,” Tooru laughed. “I met them the same time you did.”

“You’re no help,” Tobio groaned. He looked back to Ichiro and straightened up, then offered the boy his hand. “Ready, Ichiro?”

Ichiro nodded once and they left the gymnasium, with the toddler hollering a good-bye to Mitsu and Haruto. Ichiro talked about his school day on the way home to retrieve the car, and Tobio listened intently, smiling to himself at how smart his boy had gotten. He felt a little rude thinking it, but he knew if Ichiro still lived with his sister, he wouldn’t be nearly as smart as he was now.

Shopping with Ichiro had never been difficult when they were grocery shopping or getting clothing; Ichiro always knew exactly what he wanted. But now, as Tobio pushed the cart excruciatingly slowly down the aisles at the toy store, stopped every few seconds for Ichiro to deliberate over a toy, he began to lose his patience even with his boy. The eighth time they stopped to look at a stuffed animal Tobio had to bite his tongue to avoid saying something he’d regret, instead calmly telling Ichiro the twins might not like the same animals as him. Little crocodile tears poked through Ichiro’s normally calm face and before he started to cry, Tobio put the toy in the cart.

“Hikari!” a voice called behind him, and before Tobio had time to move his cart from the aisle, a small girl with brown pigtails and a bright pink dress dashed past him. Shortly thereafter a man with silver hair ran after her.

“Koushi, please quit playing tag in the store,” another voice called from behind him.

 _Koushi,_ Tobio hummed to himself. How did he know that name?

The man who’d just called for Koushi stopped, an awkward laugh leaving him as Tobio turned and looked at him. He had plain brown hair and really didn’t look familiar, so Tobio puzzled as to how he recognized the name he’d said. “Sorry about them,” he said with a shy smile. “My husband doesn’t know how to act in public.”

“Oh,” Tobio replied with an awkward smile. “It’s uh, it’s okay.”

The man in front of him frowned just slightly. “Are you Shouyo’s neighbor?”

“I, um, yes?” he replied. “Do I know you?”

“Oh, no,” he laughed and shook his head, as if just realizing they’d never met. He extended his hand for a welcoming handshake. “I’m Sawamura, that’s my husband Koushi and our daughter Hikari,” he nodded towards the silver-haired man chasing the little girl around the corner.

“Sawamura and Koushi,” he mused quietly. “Oh, I recognize your names now.” He remembered seeing them on the sticky note Shouyo left him before he babysat the twins.

“Glad to know Shouyo talks about us,” he said with a warm smile. “Is this your son?”

“My nephew,” he corrected, ruffling Ichiro’s hair gently. “Ichiro.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ichiro,” he said to the boy. Ichiro shied away, hid his face behind Tobio.

“He’s a little shy,” Tobio said with an apologetic smile – at least, he hoped it came off that way.

Koushi and Hikari walked up to the cart now, having seen Sawamura stopped and chatting with someone. “Sawamura, we need to find a present,” Koushi lilted gently.

“I was just saying that while you and Hikari were playing tag,” Sawamura replied with a laugh. “This is Tobio, Shouyo’s neighbor.”

“Oh!” Koushi smiled to him, but it looked much…faker than the one he sent towards Sawamura. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tobio replied a little shortly. “Ah, are you also shopping for the birthday party?”

“Oh, you’re going to that too?” Sawamura commented idly. Koushi nudged him.

“Yes, that’s what we’re shopping for,” Koushi said.

“Uncle Shouyo doesn’t like you,” Hikari stated bluntly.

“Hikari!” Sawamura clasped a hand over his daughter’s mouth. “I’m so sorry about her, she—”

“He doesn’t?” Tobio asked a little dumbly.

“W-well,” Koushi tried to work out how to talk themselves out of this, “he said you complained about the noise a lot when they moved in. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you!”

“But he said—” Hikari’s voice came muffled through Daichi’s hand.

“Oh,” Tobio’s mood soured. “I thought we…worked it out,” he admitted quietly.

“W-we haven’t seen Shouyo in a while,” Sawamura said quickly. “We just didn’t know.”

“I’m so sorry,” Koushi said, his cheeks aflame with an embarrassed blush. “Hikari doesn’t really have a filter yet.”

“It’s okay, she’s a child,” Tobio said with a short, dismissive wave. “Ichiro and I have to get going. Um, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow at the party?”

“Yup!” Sawamura and Koushi chirped in unison, nervous blushes on their faces. Hikari below them scowled at Tobio, and he only frowned deeper as they continued through the store. At least after they parted ways with Koushi and Sawamura, Ichiro settled on a damn present.

* * *

Tobio had half a mind to text Shouyo that night and ask if he’d done something wrong, if what Hikari had said was true. But he thought better of it; he and Hitoka were probably enjoying each other’s company, and he didn’t want to interrupt their time together. And then there was the entirely separate topic of Hitoka, who for some reason really bothered Tobio. Maybe it was the way they really looked like a couple – or at the very least, they really looked like they should be a couple.

He and Ichiro sat at the couch while they watched one of Ichiro’s favorite cartoons about a zoo. The colors were bright and the music was loud and, as always, Tobio developed a headache just two minutes in. But Ichiro’s eyes were glued to the screen, and he cheered when the giraffes came on the screen happily. In the middle of their show came a knock on Tobio’s door, and Tobio sighed, set his food down and cracked it open. Shouyo’s head of hair stood out immediately and he swung the door open all the way.

Mitsu was in his arms, tugging playfully at his unruly curls. “Hey,” he said, exasperated. “I know it’s kind of late and—” he looked past Tobio and saw a plate of food on the dining table. “Shit, did we interrupt your dinner?”

“It’s fine,” Tobio assured with a slight shrug. “What’s up?”

“I, um, I saw that you braided Mitsu-chan’s hair when you babysat,” he chewed the inside of his cheek, “and I was wondering if you could show me how?”

Tobio blinked. Did Shouyo really dislike him? Because he thought for sure if that was true, Shouyo wouldn’t be standing at his door right now.

“Do you like me?” he blurted in response, immediately embarrassed the thought had come out of his mouth.

“Sorry?” Hinata squeaked.

“I ran into Koushi and Sugawara and their daughter at the store today and—”

“Oh,” Shouyo sighed from relief. “Did Hikari say I didn’t like you?”

“…Yes, exactly. How did you know?”

“She’s got no filter.”

“That’s exactly what they said.”

Shouyo shook his head, a laugh erupting from him. “I like you plenty, Tobio. I was just sour that day because we were moving and you told me and my kids to be quiet.”

“And I’m sorry for that,” Tobio added. By then, Ichiro’s show had ended and he wandered his way to the front door. He tugged Tobio’s pant leg and Tobio lifted him.

“So, will you show me how to braid Mitsu’s hair?”

Tobio thought for a moment. His dinner would get cold, but really, he didn’t mind. “Sure,” he opened the door further. “It’ll be easier to show you than tell you.”

Ichiro tugged at Tobio’s hair, as if to demonstrate how to braid. Tobio used to braid his own hair, back during his early pro career when he wore his hair long. He’d worn it in a bun for a while, inspired by one of the aces on a particularly strong team he played in college, but braiding held his hair more secure. Ichiro knew how solely because of how many times Tobio had braided it himself with Ichiro watching.

He and Shouyo sat on the couch, with Mitsu in Shouyo’s lap and Ichiro to Tobio’s side. “Ichiro’s hair is too short to braid,” he said softly, “so we’ll part Mitsu’s hair down the middle and do it that way. Okay?”

“Sure,” Shouyo nodded.

“Do you have rubber bands?”

“…Do I need to?”

Tobio sighed and clicked his tongue, but a small smile played on his lips. “How did you expect to secure the braids, idiot?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know!” Shouyo replied defensively. “Usually I’m not the one who does their hair!”

“Does Hitoka?” Tobio asked, the question a bit bitter-tasting on his tongue.

“No, she’s not here to do it,” Shouyo huffed. “Sometimes when Koushi and Sawamura come over, Koushi will braid it or put it in a ponytail or whatever.”

“Wait, you can’t even do _ponytails_?”

Tobio thought back to all the times he’d seen Mitsu. The extent of different hairstyles she had was having her hair down and curly, or having her hair down and tangled. And half the time those were the same thing, because Shouyo didn’t know how to properly care for curly hair (if his own hair was a determining factor).

“Shut up,” Shouyo grumbled as Tobio laughed a bit.

“I’ll show you how to do both, then. Okay?”

“…Thanks.”

Tobio retrieved his own rubber bands, still in one of his suitcases that he never unpacked because he never had the need to in the few months they came home. He returned to the living room to see Mitsu and Ichiro staring at some cartoon Tobio was sure he hadn’t put on. “Oh, I hope you don’t mind,” Shouyo called as Tobio did a double-take, “this is Mitsu-chan’s favorite.”

“No problem,” he replied hesitantly.

He sectioned Mitsu’s hair delicately and began to braid, his fingers moving effortlessly. It certainly was easier to do on someone else than himself, he thought with a gentle smile. “Hold on, slow down,” Shouyo murmured, still stuck on the first crossover of hair.

“Look, take the left and put it over the middle—”

“Right, yeah—”

“Then take the right and put it over the new middle.”

“Okay…”

“Then grab some more hair from the side and put the left over the middle.”

“Oh! Tobio, this isn’t so hard!”

“It’s not as hard on someone else as it is on yourself.”

“You used to braid your hair?!”

“When I had matches or practice, yes.”

“I bet it looked funny! Can I see a picture?”

“Hah?”

Their conversation continued like this even after both sides of Mitsu’s hair were braided, Shouyo’s a bit sloppier than Tobio’s practically by default. Still, it looked neat enough to be passable in public – much more than the nest of curls Mitsu usually sported, at least. Shouyo relaxed into the couch, a lazy smile on his face as he peered over at Tobio. “I’m really glad you’re not a jerk, Tobio,” he said with a wide smile.

“That’s mean of you,” Tobio replied with a small scowl. Ichiro turned around in his lap, suddenly more intent on watching the conversation between them instead of the brightly-colored television screen. Tobio smiled and pressed a soft kiss to the boy’s forehead while Mitsu shrieked about one of the characters on the show.

“I think it’s a compliment!” Shouyo replied confidently. “Like, you were kind of a jerk. But I’m glad you’re not anymore!”

“That really sounds like an insult, Shouyo.”

“Well, I didn’t mean it that way, stupid.”

They stayed that way as the cartoon ended and the next program began. “Ah, it’s getting late,” Shouyo murmured about halfway through the next cartoon (something about a sentient soccer ball, but Tobio wasn’t really paying attention). “Thanks for the help, Tobio!” he chirped, scooped a now-sleeping Mitsu into his arms and headed for the door.

Tobio walked him there, Ichiro by his side as he did. “Let me know if you need any more parenting tips,” Tobio sneered playfully, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

“Shut up,” Shouyo laughed, nudged his shoulder. “How did Ichiro-chan like the hippo?”

“Mr. Hippo,” Ichiro corrected quietly from below. Shouyo laughed again, that warm, happy laugh that Tobio found himself craving in the last few weeks.

“Mr. Hippo sleeps with Ichiro every night to watch over him,” Tobio said, ruffled Ichiro’s hair. “Right, buddy?”

Ichiro nodded happily. “Thank you, Uncle Shouyo!” he said, even ran forward and hugged Shouyo’s leg, something he rarely did even to Tobio.

Shouyo ruffled his hair affectionately. “You’re welcome, Ichiro-chan,” he said with that happy smile of his. “Ah, the party starts at two tomorrow,” Shouyo redirected his attention to Tobio, “but you’re welcome to come earlier if you want to help set up! I know it’s not much of an offer but—”

“We’ll be there at one?” Tobio offered, a shy blush tinting his cheeks. “Might be nice to have an extra set of hands to help clean, and stuff,” he fumbled for an excuse.

“That would be great,” Shouyo said. “Good night, Tobio! Good night, Ichiro-chan!”

“Good night, Uncle Shouyo!”

“Good night, Shouyo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading my silly ramblings! Please feel free to leave any constructive criticism in the comments. I'm writing for my audience, and if there's something my audience doesn't like, I'd really like to address it!
> 
> If you're looking for more of my work or a place to contact me, you can message me on my writing blog on tumblr (same username - yamayamawrites)! Again, thank you one last time for the support of my fics, and I hope you enjoyed this update!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey!” Shouyo chirped on the other end of the line. “We’re on the way back now. Have the kids been okay?”
> 
> “We’re playing house,” Tobio replied. “Mitsu asked me to braid her hair.”
> 
> Shouyo laughed. “Yeah, she’s been asking for you to braid her hair since this morning.”
> 
> “The kids are fine. Do you want me to keep them while you decorate?”
> 
> “Actually – did you want to come help with the decorating? Hitoka’s not great at decorations, she’s willing to trade you places.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you all so so much for the warm reception to this fic so far! I'm really excited for where I plan to go from here, and I hope you are too! This chapter was so much fun to write, and I hope you enjoy reading it, too!

Tobio woke up to a text from Shouyo.

_S: Can u watch the kiddos for me? Gotta pick up bday cake and Hitoka is getting balloons!!!_

Sent forty-two minutes ago. Jesus, they were early birds over there, Tobio thought as he padded his way up the steps. As expected, Ichiro was already awake, sitting on the floor with a few toys scattered around him. He played quietly, spoke softly but with intent from one doll to another, and Tobio stopped to watch in the doorway. Ichiro looked up after a moment, and he smiled and set his dolls down with care and ran to Tobio’s legs. “Uncle!” he said excitedly, hugging at Tobio’s leg until Tobio leaned down and picked him up.

Tobio hummed to him and rocked him gently, his eyes closing as he let his fingers delicately comb through the knots in Ichiro’s hair. Ichiro struggled for a moment in his embrace but relaxed quickly, and his chubby cheek fell to Tobio’s shoulder. He walked them down the steps slowly. “Are you hungry, Ichiro?” he asked quietly as they reached the kitchen.

“Oatmeal,” Ichiro hummed.

“Uncle will make you oatmeal,” Tobio said with a soft smile. He kissed Ichiro’s hairline and set him down in his chair at the table. He had a booster seat, but his head still didn’t completely clear the table’s surface; the bottom half-inch of his chin was blocked from Tobio’s view. He kept an eye on Ichiro from his place in the kitchen while he made an instant oatmeal, and just as the microwave beeped his phone began to ring.

“Kageyama,” he answered, his voice a little raspy still from sleep.

 _“Tobio, it’s Shou,”_ Shouyo said from the other line. _“I don’t mean to bother! I was just wondering if you got my text.”_

“I did,” Tobio confirmed. “You can drop the kids off here. I’ll keep them out of your hair. Have they had breakfast?”

_“Have they had – Tobio, it’s ten in the morning!”_

“Yes? Have they had breakfast?”

 _“Like, three hours ago,”_ Shouyo chuckled on the other end. _“I’ll drop them off with a few toys and a diaper bag. Thank you so much, Tobi! I owe you!”_

“You keep saying that, but you never get me anything,” Tobio teased, but his heart swelled at the nickname.

Shouyo laughed that warm, sunny laugh of his. _“I’ll treat you to dinner sometime this week. I do seriously owe you. I’ll drop the twins off in like, ten?”_

“Sure, door’s unlocked.”

Shouyo hung up shortly thereafter, not before Tobio heard Hitoka’s muffled voice in the background calling for him. He wondered idly what their relationship was; they certainly looked like a couple, they looked like a _good_ couple. Like they’d get together in high school and be married for some ridiculous number of years, like seventy-five or something. His mind continued on that track even as he sat back down with Ichiro at the table and helped Ichiro eat his oatmeal (though he didn’t _need_ the help, sometimes he just _wanted_ it).

True to his word, Shouyo dropped the twins off almost exactly ten minutes later. Tobio stepped away from the table as a quick knock came at the door followed by the shrieks of overly-awake toddlers. Shouyo stood at the door, Hitoka hanging back by the car. “Thanks so much for this,” Shouyo breathed. He sounded much more exhausted than he had on the phone. With a few quick instructions, Shouyo passed an overfull diaper bag into Tobio’s hands and gave a quick wave, then left.

The twins immediately rushed into a game of tag, and Tobio could see Ichiro antsy to play with them. He’d eaten most of his oatmeal by then, and Tobio had a hard time deny Ichiro anything. “Are you still hungry?” he asked the boy, reached out and ruffled his hair.

Ichiro shook his head.

“Okay, you can go play. But be careful, okay?”

Ichiro nodded his head quickly and threw his legs over the dining chair. The twins circled the couch, Mitsu clambering to get up on top of the couch when Ichiro joined them. Haruto squealed and pulled himself onto the couch as well, and it became a game of jumping on the cushions.

“Hey,” Tobio called in his slightly-stern voice. Immediately the jumping halted and lips trembled, and he prepared for tears. None came, though, so he sighed his relief and crossed over towards the couch. He carefully pulled the cushions off the couch and set them around the floor. “If you want to jump on these, don’t jump on them on the couch,” he said in his soothing voice. He’d never expected that voice to get so much use.

Hesitantly, the twins went back to jumping. Tobio really wanted to avoid a trip to the emergency room, especially on the day of the twins’ party. And especially with the twins getting hurt while he was in charge of them. Ichiro joined in the jumping shortly after, and Kageyama started a pot of coffee and settled at the dining table to keep an eye on them.

He returned to the kitchen to pour a mug of coffee, wasn’t even gone a minute and a half, and when he resettled at the table there was one less tiny head to count. He nearly spit out the swallow of coffee in his mouth, panic already beginning to set in. _A kid couldn’t have gotten that far in that time,_ he thought rationally. _I should just—_

There was a tug at his pant leg. He looked down, relieved to see Mitsu’s big, brown eyes staring up at him. “What is it, Mitsu?” Tobio set his coffee cup on the table and crouched down.

“Braids,” she said softly, then tugged at her hair. “Want braids!”

“I’ll braid your hair in a few minutes, okay?” Tobio glanced over at his coffee cup. He really should have waited until he drank his coffee to answer the phone.

“Braids!” Mitsu cheered.

“In a little bit.”

That little lip began to tremble and Tobio sighed, gripped the bridge of his nose, waiting for the onslaught of tears. “Okay,” he said, just as Mitsu inhaled (likely in preparation for a loud, pained wail). Her tears were replaced with a sunny smile, and really, it boggled Tobio’s mind just how bipolar toddlers could be.

He sat on his living chair, put her in his lap while Haruto and Ichiro jumped from one couch cushion to another. Mitsu seemed perfectly content in Tobio’s arms, though; even after he finished braiding her hair and told her she could go play with the boys again, Mitsu instead kicked her feet idly over the side of the living chair, effectively banging her tiny heels into Tobio’s calves. Not that he minded, really.

Jumping on spilled couch cushions became boring after a short while, and Ichiro and Haruto migrated up the stairs with the intention of playing dolls. Mitsu squirmed out of Tobio’s lap, finally, and he grabbed his mug of coffee (a little better than lukewarm now) and followed them up the steps. He stood in the doorway of Ichiro’s bedroom, admiring the way his boy shared his toys so nicely with Mitsu and Haruto. Together they played a strange, not entirely accurate version of “house”, where somehow Mitsu’s baby doll was both the mother and father of the household. And Ichiro’s Batman toy played the part of the uncle, and Haruto’s Superman doll was the uncle’s friend.

Ichiro looked up hesitantly in their game, saw Tobio at the doorway and smiled. “Uncle,” he said softly, and Tobio crossed the room and knelt next to him.

“What is it, Ichiro?”

“Look!”

He made his toy do a flip.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Tobio said with a soft smile.

“And this!”

Ichiro made his Batman toy do the splits.

“Batman sure knows how to dance, huh?”

Ichiro giggled and nodded happily.

“Watch mine! Watch mine!” Haruto waved Superman in the air, making sound effects as he went.

“Me! Me! Me!” Mitsu urged, leapt to her feet and jumped up and down with the baby doll.

Tobio got sucked into a game of house shortly thereafter, playing the part of the child (somehow). He wasn’t normally one for playing with Ichiro, and Ichiro preferred playing alone most of the time anyway; but now, his eyes glowed with a happiness Tobio rarely saw from him, and he wondered if Ichiro had just been too scared to ask him to play with them.

His phone rang just after Mitsu’s baby doll stomped on the head of his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle doll, and he excused himself. Shouyo’s name lit up on the screen, and he felt his heart leap a little, then immediately felt silly, like he was back in high school crushing on a teammate, or something. “Hey,” he said as he answered the phone.

 _“Hey!”_ Shouyo chirped on the other end of the line. _“We’re on the way back now. Have the kids been okay?”_

“We’re playing house,” Tobio replied. “Mitsu asked me to braid her hair.”

Shouyo laughed. _“Yeah, she’s been asking for you to braid her hair since this morning.”_

“The kids are fine. Do you want me to keep them while you decorate?”

_“Actually – did you want to come help with the decorating? Hitoka’s not great at decorations, she’s willing to trade you places.”_

Tobio smiled to himself a little. “Is she alright watching Ichiro, too?”

_“Please, Ichiro-chan’s an angel. She’ll be thrilled to spend some time with him.”_

“Sure, I’ll help you decorate.”

A few minutes later, Hitoka and Shouyo were at the door. The kids barely batted an eye at the sound of the door knocking, and Tobio went downstairs to let them in. “The kids are upstairs,” he said to Hitoka. “You’re sure you don’t want me to watch them?”

“I don’t really have an eye for design,” Hitoka said with a small wink that Tobio didn’t think equated to what she was saying. “Go on, I’ll watch them! Thank you for taking them this morning!”

“Sure,” Tobio replied with a small smile. “I enjoy spending time with the twins. They’re so…”

“Energetic?” Shouyo supplied. Tobio nodded.

“More so than Ichiro, for sure.”

Together, he and Shouyo headed towards the house next door. “So, we’re having the party outside,” Shouyo explained as they walked. “We got snacks and stuff while we were out. And balloons and streamers and stuff.” When they stepped inside the house, Tobio saw at least three dozen balloons clouding the path from the entryway into the living space.

“That’s a lot,” Tobio said smartly. Shouyo laughed.

“We got extra so we can suck the helium out of them!”

Tobio turned to give Shouyo a questioning look. “That’s…you’re joking, right?”

“Adults can still have fun,” Shouyo teased, poking at Tobio’s arm. “Besides, it wasn’t me who suggested it. It was Hitoka.”

Tobio hummed, walked further into the room and pushed balloon strings out of the way to get through. “What happened between you two?” he asked casually, his voice soft and pondering.

“Hm?” Shouyo replied, crossing the room over to Tobio and slumping on the couch. “It’s kind of a long story,” he admitted sheepishly.

“I have time,” Tobio said quietly. He needed to know before he got his hopes up too high what their story was, and if they would get back together. He sat next to him, hesitantly, and glanced over.

“We dated for about a year,” Shouyo began, exhaled quietly. “We knew each other since high school, and we were such good friends that it just seemed like the next logical step, ya know?”

“Right,” Tobio nodded shortly.

“Well,” he fidgeted under Tobio’s gaze, “we just, we weren’t right for each other, ya know? Much better off as friends.”

“Sure.”

“So we broke up, and decided to just be friends…but then a month or so later, Hitoka told me she was pregnant.”

“But you guys seem to work so well together,” Tobio said quietly. “I guess I don’t understand. You look like the perfect—”

“We’re both gay.”

Tobio stilled. He felt his cheeks heating up for pressing the matter. “Ah, I’m sorry I pushed so hard…”

“What?” Shouyo laughed. “It’s fine! Did you really not know, Tobi?”

“How was I supposed to know?” Tobio barked, a little annoyed now that Shouyo used the nickname against him.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Shouyo teased, “maybe my mannerisms? My outfit choices? You’re really dense, aren’t you?”

“I don’t stereotype,” Tobio huffed back.

“C’mon, we have to put up the decorations,” Shouyo laughed, threw himself up from the couch once more and stretched his arms. “Are you good at decorating, Tobio?” he asked.

“Not particularly skilled,” Tobio admitted quietly. Shouyo laughed.

“Well, I’ll teach you.”

* * *

Singing an off-key rendition of the song ‘Happy Birthday’ had really never been Tobio’s strong suit, but still he joined in the chorus as Mitsu and Haruto clapped their chubby palms together and squealed with delight. Shouyo held one cupcake, Hitoka the other, and very carefully they lit the singular candles on each of the cupcakes and dimmed the lights. Tobio looked around the room while they sang; Koushi and Sawamura stood in the kitchen, their daughter Hikari by the side of Mitsu’s high chair, Tooru and Hajime sat next to each other at the table so close that Aito sat with one leg in each of their laps, Kei and Tadashi had taken over a couch, but Kei stepped away to rock Yuki during a short-lived temper tantrum. And then, Ichiro stood by the side of Haruto’s high chair, shuffling from foot to foot as he watched the cupcakes come closer.

There were a few others that Tobio didn’t quite recognize, probably from Shouyo’s college years: a man with hair bleach-dyed towards the ends sat on a living chair and pulled his knees up to his chest while he played a video game; two other men who had come simply to drop off a present decided to stay just to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and currently were congregated in the kitchen. The last note of the song drew Tobio’s attention back to the toddlers, and with a little help from Shouyo and Hitoka, they blew out the candles on their cupcakes.

The partygoers recongregated outside with cupcakes and ice cream on their plates. Tobio sat inside with Shouyo while Hitoka scooped ice cream, helped Mitsu unwrap her cupcake. Ichiro remained by Shouyo’s side, watching with curiosity. “Thank you for your help today, Tobio,” Shouyo called over to him.

“It’s nothing,” Tobio replied coolly. He opened his mouth, mimicking for Mitsu to do the same. She laughed at his funny face.

“Handling twins isn’t ‘nothing’,” Shouyo countered, holding out a small forkful of cake to Haruto. Below him, Hitoka put a cupcake in Ichiro’s hands.

“He can have cupcakes, right, Tobio?” Shouyo asked.

“Just one,” Tobio replied.

After finishing the cupcakes and taking several napkins to clean up the twins, together the six of them rejoined the others in the backyard. Tadashi sat with Yuki in the grass while Yuki stumbled around, Aito and Hikari swung with each other on the playset. Tooru and Hajime squeezed together on the patio furniture across from Sawamura and Koushi, who seemed to be having an intense conversation about whether or not Tooru was a better setter than Tobio. It made a small smile come to Tobio’s lips.

“Of course I’m the better setter,” Tooru stated, rising to his feet triumphantly. “I’m the _Grand King_ , after all!”

“They called you that because of your ego,” Hajime grunted from below. Sawamura and Koushi erupted into laughter. Kei, who sat on a cooler nearby, snickered into his palm.

The group of them looked up as Tobio, Hitoka, and Shouyo stepped out of the house, each of them carrying a child. “What do you think, Tobio?” Sawamura asked with a smile. “Are you the better setter, or is Tooru over here?”

“Obviously Tobio is,” Shouyo cut in. “Have you seen his wicked fast sets? God, I’d like to hit one of those.”

Tobio glanced over. “Nobody’s ever been able to get a solid hit on one of those,” he replied. “I stopped trying to find someone who could a long time ago. I haven’t even done that move since college – how did you know about it?”

Shouyo just winked, and Sawamura and Koushi exchanged a quick look.

“It’s a secret!” Shouyo teased, then delicately scooped Mitsu out of Hitoka’s hands. “Should we open presents?”

“Presents!” the twins squealed together, squirming and giggling with excitement.

Shouyo sat in between the two of them on the deck while Hitoka handed presents to them. Tobio and Ichiro sat on the deck nearby, Ichiro in Tobio’s lap comfortably. “Uncle,” Ichiro said quietly, “present.”

“Those presents are for the twins,” Tobio murmured back.

“Present!” Ichiro said more emphatically.

“It’s the twins’ birthday,” Tobio explained softly. “You get lots of presents on your birthday, remember?”

“Birthday present,” Ichiro grumbled. “At home.”

Tobio blanked. Then, he swept his eyes over the present table once, twice, three times, trying to make sure they hadn’t missed it. But, no, it wasn’t there. “Oh,” Tobio frowned. “Okay. Uncle will go get it. Do you want to sit with Uncle Tooru for a little bit?”

Ichiro nodded silently, and as quietly as he could Tobio walked over to Tooru. “What is it?” Tooru asked in an annoyed whisper.

“I left the twins’ present on the table,” Tobio replied sheepishly. “Is it okay if Ichiro—”

“Of course,” Tooru waved his hand dismissively. “Go get the damn present. Ichiro-chan and I will stay here. Won’t we?” he cooed to Ichiro, who crossed his arms in a semi-pout but allowed himself to be picked up and placed in Tooru’s lap.

Tobio returned just as the twins tore open the wrapping on the second-to-last present, and inside were matching tiger onesies from Sawamura and Koushi. “Oh, how precious!” Hitoka squealed, bending down to look at them closer while Shouyo’s cheeks erupted into a happy blush.

“Thank you!” the twins and Shouyo chirped as one.

Tobio set the present bag down on the table. “Oh, Tobio, you didn’t have to—” Shouyo began, but the warning look Tobio sent him made him close his mouth.

“Sorry, I left it on the counter this morning,” he said. Ichiro reached out from Hajime’s lap (Tooru whined that he’d migrated there just after Tobio left) and Tobio scooped him up, bouncing him gently in his arms while they watched the twins open their gift.

Shouyo had to help them with the tissue paper, and he must have seen what the gift was, because his eyes went wide and a bright, sunny smile spread over his entire face. “Tobio!” he gasped, and he really seemed more excited than the kids did. “This—where did you get this?!”

“Ichiro picked it out,” Tobio said nonchalantly, and Ichiro giggled.

Shouyo took the box out of the bag and held it up, with Mitsu and Haruto also trying to grab at it. “It’s an adjustable volleyball net,” he said in awe. “This is so sweet!”

“The gift comes with a condition.”

Shouyo froze, and heads turned towards him as a small smile came to his face. “You have to teach Ichiro how to set.”

Shouyo laughed, along with Tooru and Hajime. Kei snickered behind his palm and even Tadashi laughed from his spot in the grass with Yuki. “You’d be much better suited for that than me,” Shouyo teased.

The last gift was from Shouyo and Hitoka. They’d gotten the twins a three-story dollhouse nearly the size of the kids, complete with fancy sets of dolls and outfits to change them into and a bunch of doll furniture. Of course, the kids had more fun playing inside the box while Shouyo and Hitoka took the pieces out to set the dollhouse up. Aito and Ichiro joined in playing in the box and soon enough, the children were clambering to get in and out of the box that was now deemed a spaceship.

Tobio had settled next to Shouyo on the loveseat shortly after Sawamura and Koushi said their goodbyes; Hikari had ballet class in a half hour. Tobio was perfectly content watching the children in the box, smiling faintly that Ichiro had friends now, knowing full well that once they went back overseas it would be a different case once again. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he excused himself into the house to answer, with a strange look from Shouyo just before he stepped inside.

He only answered when he got to the kitchen. “Kageyama,” he said quietly.

 _“Hey, Kags!”_ his teammate Bokuto’s voice lilted on the other end of the phone. _“How’re you?”_

“Busy,” Tobio replied shortly. “Is it serious?”

 _“Tournament season this year just got bumped up a month. Coach asked me to contact you because he doesn’t have your phone number. Seriously, you need to give it to him!”_ Bokuto whined.

“He doesn’t need it,” Tobio shrugged. “Okay, is that all? I’m busy.”

 _“Flights are being rescheduled,”_ he continued. _“For next week.”_

Tobio sputtered. “Sorry? Next week?”

_“I know it’s super short notice but so was the change in tournament stuff. Coach wants us all back in the States by next Friday for conditioning.”_

“I…we’ve barely been home a month and a half,” Tobio’s throat felt dry. “I can’t do that to Ichiro.”

_“It’s either that or you’re off the team, Kags.”_

He gripped the bridge of his nose, took a few steadying breaths. “Yeah, alright. We’ll…get ready to leave again.”

 _“I don’t like it either, bud. Keiji and I just bought a house, ya know? But hey, duty calls. See you next week!”_ The other end of the line clicked, and Tobio stared down at his phone a moment, angry tears welling in his eyes.

They’d just gotten home. It felt like yesterday they’d unpacked and resettled after the four-month-long spring tournament season. What the hell? They’d always had the full summer off! Tobio slammed his fist into the counter, his back turned towards the doorway into the kitchen. He trembled with anger, grabbing at the hem of his shirt to stop his fists from closing too tightly on his knuckles.

“Tobio?”

Tobio jumped, turned around slowly to see Hitoka at the doorway. She wore a frown, and it looked terrible on her usually-happy face. “Yeah,” he said. “Sorry. Am I in the way?”

“No, no,” she shook her head and that smile started to creep its way back. “I heard you on the phone when I came in to bring in some of the presents. Is everything alright?”

He exhaled quietly. “Ah, I don’t…really want to talk about it.”

“Oh.” That smile vanished again. “Ichiro-chan is having a really good time today,” she changed the subject with ease; Tobio could tell she was a businesswoman. “He gets along really well with the twins. He’s so polite, too!”

“Thank you,” he choked out. _Ichiro._ They’d have to find yet another new school, pray that they took children on such short notice. He knew this wasn’t the life he wanted for Ichiro, and yet he couldn’t with good conscience return him to his old life. He groaned inwardly and rubbed his temple, the stress settling directly behind his eyes and pressuring his head into a migraine.

“You’re sure everything’s okay?” Hitoka said softly.

Tobio sighed, leaned back against the counter. “Ichiro and I have to leave a lot sooner than expected,” he admitted finally.

“Oh, right, Shouyo said you’re on the Japanese Olympic team,” she replied idly. “How soon are you leaving?”

“Next week.”

She stilled, then leaned against the counter next to him. “That’s,” she exhaled. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s the gig,” he replied shortly, but he could feel anger swelling in him at his job for taking away his and Ichiro’s summer.

“Are you going to tell Shouyo?”

“Hm?” Tobio glanced over at her. “Well, I’m sure it’ll come up. Why?”

Hitoka smiled, a little bitterly. “He’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss him,” Tobio replied softly. “And the twins.”

“Do you have feelings for him, Tobio?”

When Tobio looked over at her, half-surprise and half-annoyance written clear on his face, she looked back at him with a sort of gentle smile he’d expect from such a kind mother. “I do,” he said finally, then looked away, back to his hands folded neatly in front of him. “He’s…so good, to those kids.”

Hitoka chuckled softly. “He is. He’d do anything for them.”

“I don’t mean to be blunt, but…do you not want me around?” Tobio asked, concerned. “It seems like you two are—”

“We’re not romantically involved,” Hitoka covered her mouth in a small giggle.

“I don’t want to break up the family dynamic,” Tobio continued. “Plus I’m kind of the asshole neighbor, I don’t think he’d…you know.”

“Asshole neighbor?” Hitoka tilted her head curiously. “How so?”

“Well, I kind of told him and the twins to be quiet…on multiple occasions…”

Hitoka laughed. “When you said ‘asshole neighbor’, I was expecting a lot worse than that, you know.”

Tobio glanced back at her, and a small smile crept to his face. “I also maybe accused him of not being able to play volleyball.”

“Okay, that’s more like it,” Hitoka laughed louder. “Shouyo would probably kill anyone who told him he couldn’t play volleyball.”

Tobio laughed a bit at that, too, and what followed was a warm, homey silence that Tobio relished the feeling of. Hitoka had looked to him like competition the night before – like he’d never be able to get close to Shouyo because Hitoka was just too much like him and they slotted together perfectly in the nuclear family department. Now, she felt like the warm parent Tobio wished to be for Ichiro; her smile melted glaciers and her laugh rang through a room like church bells. “Where do you go in the States?” she asked after the silence had settled.

“Depends, usually,” Tobio replied with a shrug. “Usually we fly into New York and stay there until the tournament location is announced, then travel wherever it ends up at.”

Hitoka hummed in thought, tapped her chin and nodded finally. “Well, my office is just outside of New York City. If you ever want to stop by, you know,” she giggled. “Shimizu and I would love to have you sometime.”

“Shimizu?”

Hitoka held out her hand and flashed an engagement ring. “My fiancée,” she smiled warmly. “We met just after I got my job over in New York. She worked at one of the office buildings down the street.”

“That’s—”

“Tobio!” Shouyo called out into the house. “Ichiro-chan is um…”

“What is it?” Tobio already was jogging towards the back door.

“He’s setting the volleyball!”

Tobio stopped at the end of the hall, watching Shouyo in the doorway. He blinked. “You…told me you didn’t teach him—”

“I didn’t,” Shouyo breathed.

Together they rushed out of the house and immediately Tobio set his eyes on the volleyball net they’d purchased. It wasn’t set very high – maybe four feet tall, or so – and Hajime and Tooru each took a side. Standing next to Hajime was Ichiro, with Aito on Ichiro’s other side, and Tooru had each of the twins on either side of him. They were playing a game of volleyball with one of those blow-up grocery store balls that Shouyo held practice with, though it wasn’t much of a game; the twins seemed more intent on grabbing the ball and running with it than playing volleyball. But, sure enough, when the ball came over to Hajime’s side of the net he received it to Ichiro, and his little boy set the ball over to Aito.

“I thought you’d want to see him,” Shouyo murmured with a smile beside him. “He’s good, right?”

“He’s good,” Tobio agreed softly.

“Tobio, how high does that net go?”

“I don’t know, stupid. It probably says on the box.”

Shouyo knelt down by the presents and dug through the pile of wrapping paper and open, haphazard boxes. “Six and a half feet,” he said finally. “Too short.”

“Too short,” Tobio agreed.

The volleyball game continued until Mitsu and Haruto decided to spontaneously jump on each other. They rolled around on the ground together, laughing and screaming, and Aito joined in, and hesitantly, Ichiro. Yuki tried to stumble her way over, too, but Kei swept her up in his arms and instead took her towards the swing set.

“I remember when they were Yuki’s age,” Shouyo said with a soft sigh. They sat next to each other on the loveseat while Hajime and Tooru fought to get the children off each other. “How was Ichiro at that age?”

“I got custody of him when he was two, so I’m not all that sure,” Tobio shrugged.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

They were silent for a moment, then Shouyo drew his knee up onto the couch so he could face Tobio better. “Tobi,” he began, and Tobio both relented and relished him using that nickname, “why did you fight for custody of Ichiro-chan? If you don’t mind me asking,” he added as an afterthought.

Tobio hummed, thinking about how much he should reveal. “His mother, my sister, wasn’t really a great mom,” he decided finally.

“How so?”

“Well—she wasn’t abusive, or anything,” Tobio hurried to say. “Just…neglectful. She’d go out to bars and stuff a lot, leave her boyfriend home with the kid, but he was no better.”

Shouyo nodded along.

“I know I wasn’t the best option,” he sighed, “but I had the money for good lawyers and at least while I’m not working I can give Ichiro everything he could ever ask for.”

“You’re one of the best volleyball players in the world,” Shouyo mumbled, leaned closer as he dropped his voice. “Why do you live in this neighborhood?”

“I don’t need to flaunt my money,” Tobio sighed. “Besides, this neighborhood is nice and has good kids.” His eyes idly wandered over to Mitsu and Haruto, who ran circles around Hajime and Tooru now. “I wanted a house that felt good to come back to, not some big empty mansion.”

“I see,” Shouyo murmured, following Tobio’s gaze to his children. “I wish I could have had that life.”

Tobio smiled, returned his attention to Shouyo. “Yeah, I could have set to you,” he teased. “Show you what a real setter looks like.”

“My setter in college was good,” Shouyo defended, smiling back. “Akaashi Keiji. You heard of him?”

“Holy shit,” Tobio’s face went blank. No frown, no forehead creases. Nothing.

“What? You’ve heard of him?”

“He’s marrying my ace.”

“You work with _Bokuto Koutarou_?!” Shouyo exclaimed, leaning forward more until their faces were mere inches apart. “What’s he like?!”

“Annoying as hell,” Tobio stated bluntly. “But, he’s good at what he does.”

“I always dreamed of being on the same team as him!” Shouyo cried. “We could have been a power duo! Or something,” he waved his hands around to accentuate his point.

Tobio laughed. “Bokuto doesn’t like to share the spotlight, I’m afraid.”

“Well, you and me then!”

“…Excuse me?”

“We could have been a power duo, then! And Bokuto could have been, I don’t know, your side-chick!”

Tobio snorted at the notion of Koutarou being a _side-chick._ “You’d likely have been the side-chick, Shouyo.”

“Would not,” Shouyo moved his face closer.

“Would too,” Tobio took the bait.

“Would. Not.”

“Would. Too.”

Their foreheads were pressed together. _Just one move,_ Tobio thought, _and I could_ —

“Oi!” Tooru called, and they slammed their foreheads together. Tobio pulled back and rubbed his forehead, grumbling under his breath. “What do you guys say to a three-on-three?”

“That net is for kids,” Shouyo called back, a laugh leaving him as he rubbed his own forehead. “I don’t want Tobio to throw me one of those wicked sets and I go flying into the thing and break it.”

“I’m not talking about here,” Tooru jogged up to them on the patio so he wasn’t yelling across the lawn. “Next Friday at the gym? Chibi, King, and whoever else you want versus Hajime, me, and whoever you don’t want.”

“How did we end up being the third picks?” Kei griped from behind him. Yuki stuck her tongue out at Tooru.

“Because your kid doesn’t like me,” Tooru replied, crossed his arms over his chest. Shouyo laughed.

“That’s pretty stupid reasoning,” Tobio said what Shouyo wouldn’t. Shouyo choked on a laugh.

“Everyone else’s kid likes me!” Tooru whined while Hajime came up the steps to the deck, Aito holding his pinkie and walking alongside him.

“Tooru,” he called, “Aito and I are going to head home. He’s getting tired. Are you coming over for dinner?”

“Is that an invitation to come over for dinner, Iwa-chan?”

“Dumbass, were you listening?!”

“Dumbass,” Aito added quietly.

Tooru snorted. “Look what you taught Aito-chan,” he sneered. “He’s learning to swear.”

Following a short argument Tooru and Hajime said their goodbyes. Shortly after, Kei and Tadashi left as well, until it was just Tobio and Shouyo chatting on the loveseat, Hitoka running around with Mitsu and Haruto, and Ichiro swinging on the swing set nearby. The sun began to set and finally Tobio forced himself to his feet. “Well, we don’t want to overstay our—”

“Can you help me bring some stuff in the house first?” Shouyo cut him off, standing as well. His cheeks flushed pink and he smiled, not that sunshine smile but something much shier, almost nervous – an emotion Tobio didn’t quite think Shouyo possessed.

“Oh, sure,” he nodded, followed him over to the presents and stray wrapping.

“Can you grab one end of the dollhouse?” Shouyo asked, already pulling open the sliding door.

Tobio grabbed one end and Shouyo the other, and together they managed to get the dollhouse into the kids’ bedroom in one piece. A few bits of furniture fell from the dollhouse as they walked, and Hitoka followed them in to pick them up; the kids were behind her, covered in grass stains and mud. “I’m going to give the kids a bath,” she called to Shouyo. “Do you want me to give Ichiro-chan a bath too, Tobio?”

“No, I’ll give him a bath later,” Tobio dismissed. “Thank you though, Hitoka.”

The sound of screaming kids and Hitoka laughing with them slowly faded out as they got into the tub and the sound of running water started. Tobio and Shouyo migrated back into the living area, Shouyo flopping down on the couch and pulling Tobio next to him. “Hitoka mentioned you got some bad news on the phone earlier,” Shouyo said casually.

Tobio felt a pit settle in his stomach, especially with the way Shouyo so nonchalantly said it. Shouyo didn’t even look at him, and Tobio looked forward at the blank television screen while he tried to formulate a response. “Ichiro and I have to leave next week,” he said finally, decided to rip the band-aid off.

“For how long?”

“Tournament season usually lasts four months,” he replied. “But I don’t know. Tournaments got bumped forward a month, so I don’t know when we’ll be home.”

“Oh.”

Shouyo continued to stare straight ahead, but his face contorted in…something. He looked almost pained, and Tobio frowned. “Hey,” he said softly, “it’s not that bad. Ichiro and I can call the twins all the time.”

“I’ll miss you, too,” Shouyo huffed.

“Then we’ll call you _and_ the twins,” he replied. “It’ll be okay.”

“You promise you’ll call?”

Shouyo looked over at him, now, his eyes glossing over. “I do,” he said quietly, wondering what had gotten into him. “Is everything okay, Shou—”

Shouyo leaned forward, captured his lips and swallowed the rest of his question, and instinctively Tobio’s fingers tangled themselves in Shouyo’s hair. Shouyo moved closer, made himself at home in Tobio’s lap as their lips melded together. As if they’d done this a hundred times. And Tobio’s hand met Shouyo’s hip, and Shouyo exhaled between them.

He pulled back just as quickly as he’d lunged at Tobio, face flushed and breath shaky. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t,” Tobio gasped back, reconnecting their lips.

Shouyo’s lips parted and Tobio sighed into his mouth, his tongue tentatively coming to Shouyo’s lower lip.

“Naked kids coming!” Hitoka shrieked, and it was accompanied by matching twins’ laughter. Shouyo and Tobio broke apart quickly, putting several feet between them on the couch just as Mitsu and Haruto came running in nothing but their animal-themed coverup towels. Ichiro followed after them wielding a rubber duck, shrieking with laughter with them.

Tobio thought that, for the first time, maybe his dream wasn’t pro volleyball. Maybe, somehow, it was this; the warmth of a living room full of the sound of laughing children and Shouyo, oh god, _Shouyo._ Tobio smiled to himself, crowding on the couch with Ichiro in his lap and Mitsu to his side, Hitoka on the end of the couch, and Haruto between her and Shouyo, cuddled together watching some cartoon movie or another.

Maybe he dreamed of this being his normal, not the cool quiet of a hotel room. Not the hours and hours of conditioning, coming back to a boy also ready for bed. Maybe he wanted to fall asleep curled around someone other than Ichiro, cold in the excessive air conditioning of American hotels. Maybe he wanted a normal, suburban life that he used to dread so terribly.

He held Ichiro close, raked his fingers through the boy’s hair, only half-watching the movie. He glanced over at Shouyo, sighed quietly, kissed Ichiro’s forehead, working out the math in his head of how much longer he had on his contract.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I appreciate all your kind comments and kudos!! If you're looking for more works from me or want to contact me, you can follow me on Tumblr (same username - yamayamawrites)!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouyo just laughed, and Tobio’s chest lightened at the sound of it. “See you here in fifteen?”
> 
> “Shouyo, I still have some packing to do…”
> 
> “Please! I’ll help you pack later, the twins just really want to see you!”
> 
> He sighed, unable to continue to argue. After all, he quite liked the idea of visiting Shouyo, too. “Fine. We’ll be there soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this fic! Fair warning: this chapter does include sexually explicit content, which is why the rating of this fic has been changed from T to M. If you'd like to skip that content, start skimming at "Tobio grabbed the back of Shouyo’s thigh" and pick back up at "Somehow Tobio managed to remain upright".
> 
> Thank you for all your sweet comments/kudos! I'm actually shocked we're already halfway through this fic, wow! I hope you're all enjoying it just as much as I am. :)

Tobio awoke to the sound of thunder cracking outside his window, and the subsequent tug at his covers. He opened one eye, squinted in the dark to find Ichiro at the side of his bed, lip puffed out as far as it would go. “Uncle,” he whimpered. “It’s loud.”

“Come here,” Tobio rolled over and made room on his bed. Ichiro attempted to clamber up, and eventually Tobio reached out and grabbed him awkwardly underneath his shoulders to hoist him up. Ichiro curled up next to him, head on his pillow, and stared at him.

Another clap of thunder sent Ichiro directly into Tobio’s arms, and Tobio held him there, combing his fingers through his nephew’s hair gently. “It’s okay,” he murmured under his breath, still groggy and half-asleep. “Just a yucky storm.”

“Yucky,” Ichiro agreed, gripping Tobio’s pajama shirt in his little fists.

Tobio looked over Ichiro’s head at the time on his digital alarm clock. It was barely four-thirty in the morning. Their flight left at one o’clock that afternoon. He sighed, knew well that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep now, and resigned himself to his fate.

The room was still quite dark when Ichiro’s breathing finally hollowed out into what Tobio could only assume was sleep. He continued to rake his fingers through his hair, untangled any knots as gently as he could. Every so often lightning would illuminate the room, remind Tobio just how much he had to pack for the flight, and he rubbed his fingers over the side of his temple. The week had flown by, too fast for Tobio to even take the time to enjoy it; he’d been bombarded with phone calls from his coach and teammates (though it was mostly Koutarou). Speaking of, he had a few voicemails from Koutarou waiting for him on his cell phone.

He rolled over, brought Ichiro with him so the boy laid across his chest. He stared up at the ceiling. By then it was almost six, and the storm still raged outside his window. It grew lighter with the oncoming of mid-morning and gradually Tobio’s eyes strained less and less to be able to see. Around six-thirty his phone alarm went off, and quickly he reached over to shut it off; Ichiro didn’t stir in his arms. He thanked every god above that he hadn’t woken up.

Tobio even managed to drift back to sleep, himself, for about ten minutes, awoken again by his phone. This time it was a call, and grumpily he reached over and, expecting Koutarou on the other line, picked up with an annoyed, “What.”

 _“Good morning to you too, Tobi,”_ Shouyo said through a grin on the other end of the line. Immediately Tobio sat up, careful to curl his arm around Ichiro. The boy stirred in his arms and he tried to shush him back to sleep, but he was awake indefinitely, tugging on Tobio’s hair and rubbing at his sleep-filled eyes.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled sharply. “I was expecting someone else.”

 _“The twins really want to see Ichiro-chan again before you leave today,”_ Shouyo continued. _“And, ah, I’d like to see you, too.”_

They hadn’t talked about the kiss, not since it happened. It seemed every time Shouyo and Tobio were alone, and one of them opened their mouth to say something about it, a toddler ran in with a dirty diaper or someone screamed in one of the bedrooms and their fatherly instincts drew them to the scene of the crime (which, most often, was just a shriek of laughter while the children played together). Tobio idly rolled a strand of hair around his finger, the way a schoolgirl might while on the phone with their crush, over-analyzing what exactly Shouyo meant. Part of him hated this game – this high school drama-type game – but another part lived for the thrill of someone who made his heart thump so rapidly just by calling him in the morning. Anyone else, and well, he’d have probably cussed them out and gone back to bed.

“What time?” Tobio asked softly. “Don’t the twins have school?”

 _“I called their teacher this morning already,”_ Shouyo said, and the way his words strained he could tell Shouyo was smiling, wide and unbothered. _“Said the babies are sporting a fever.”_

“I’m not bringing Ichiro over if your kids are sick,” Tobio stated bluntly. Ichiro squirmed in Tobio’s lap, attempting to also listen in on the phone conversation.

 _“Idiot,”_ Shouyo laughed, _“they’re not sick! God, you’re dense sometimes.”_

Ichiro managed to swat at the phone, and Tobio’s tired state made him drop it in surprise. Ichiro picked it up, squealed a high-pitched “Uncle Shouyo!” and Tobio could hear Shouyo’s laughter loud and clear on the other end.

_“Hi, Ichiro-chan! Do you wanna come see Haru-chan and Mitsu-chan today?”_

“Haru-chan! Mitsu-chan!” Ichiro chanted.

Tobio wrestled the phone away from his nephew with some ease. “Don’t invite my kid over,” he said, but a smile spread across his face and he couldn’t help the somewhat lilting tone in his voice.

_“You’re invited too, Tobio-chan.”_

“Please don’t call me that,” Tobio groaned. “You sound like Tooru.”

Shouyo just laughed, and Tobio’s chest lightened at the sound of it. _“See you here in fifteen?”_

“Shouyo, I still have some packing to do…”

_“Please! I’ll help you pack later, the twins just really want to see you!”_

He sighed, unable to continue to argue. After all, he quite liked the idea of visiting Shouyo, too. “Fine. We’ll be there soon.”

Again, Ichiro shrieked another “Uncle Shouyo” before Tobio hung up the phone. Tobio turned his attention to the toddler, grabbed him around the waist and lifted him. Ichiro giggled.

“Wanna go see Uncle Shouyo?” Tobio asked, and Ichiro clapped his hands together excitedly.

Tobio sent Ichiro upstairs to get dressed, dressing himself in the process with the one outfit he hadn’t packed yet. He met Ichiro upstairs, found his nephew struggling with the collar of his shirt, and leaned down to fix it. It was a little difficult, with Ichiro practically vibrating from excitement. He finally managed to still the boy by resting a hand on his shoulder. “Almost done,” he cooed, adjusted Ichiro’s pants then rose to his feet again and offered his hand down to Ichiro.

Gladly, Ichiro took Tobio’s pinkie and together they walked to the door, Ichiro chattering between them and Tobio making affirming noises as they walked up the steps of the Hinata residence. They didn’t bother with umbrellas, being so close by, but still being so close they ended up a little more than damp by the time they stood at Shouyo’s porch. Tobio brought a hand up, barely even knocked once before the door swung open. Shouyo beamed down at Ichiro, then up at Tobio. “Come in!” he chirped, stepping aside for them to come in.

Ichiro ran into the house like he owned the place, and Tobio shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “He loves it here,” he said idly, and Shouyo just smiled wider.

“I’m glad,” Shouyo said softly. “This place has become like, a second home for you guys. Or something.”

Tobio flushed. “I’m sorry if we ever overstayed our welcome.”

“Are you kidding?” Shouyo laughed. “It’s so nice having adult company,” he sighed happily. “Plus, the twins love Ichiro-chan.”

Hesitantly, Tobio extended a small smile to Shouyo, and in response Shouyo just beamed wider. Tobio wondered, idly, if his mouth hurt with how much he smiled. “So, Tobio, what time does your flight leave today?” he asked.

“One,” he replied, that smile leaving his face just as quickly as it had budded. Tobio sighed, heavy and forlorn with the sudden reminder that this couldn’t last, that he’d be gone for four months. And he remembered how painful it had been when he _didn’t_ leave anyone behind waiting for him, when it was just him and Ichiro, uprooted and living in chaos.

“Do you need a ride to the airport?” Shouyo turned away from the door, headed for the kitchen. Tobio shut the door behind him.

“No, thanks,” Tobio shook his head. “Coach arranges rides for us.”

Shouyo hummed his acknowledgement, his back still turned as he stepped through the doorway into the kitchen. Hitoka poured juice into three separate sippy cups, turned only when she heard footsteps coming closer. “Oh, hi, Tobio!” she said in that chipper tone that perfectly matched Shouyo’s.

“Morning,” Tobio replied in a tone much less chipper. He wished he could find it in himself to be at least a little happy this morning.

“I’ll get out of your way,” Hitoka said, waltzed out of the kitchen with a wink over her shoulder directed at Shouyo, but Tobio certainly didn’t miss it. And then it was quiet, aside from the distant shrieks of laughter from the twins and Hitoka’s calming voice asking the kids to play in the bedroom.

Suddenly the chipper, airy aura Shouyo tended to radiate died away, replaced with a nervousness that felt uncomfortable even for Tobio. He shifted, leaned against the counter as nonchalantly as he could, but he couldn’t help his furrowed brow of discomfort. Shouyo inhaled suddenly, loud enough for Tobio to hear, and brought his eyes up to Tobio’s. “I’m attracted to you,” he said, jaw set and face stern. Tobio thought idly that if this was a high school confession, he’d probably have laughed shortly and brushed Shouyo off with the disbelief that someone so polarly opposite himself could actually like him. Now, though, he paled, because he felt that same attraction and he didn’t quite know how to respond.

“Uh,” Tobio said smartly, as a method of breaking the uncomfortable silence between them.

“Sorry!” Shouyo bowed his head, looking instead at the ground (Tobio probably would have opted for that, too, in a situation like this). “I know this is sudden, I just needed to tell you before you left.”

“You kissed me,” Tobio said quietly.

“Yeah?” Shouyo straightened again, his stern face replaced with a confused expression. “And?”

“Well, I kind of figured you were attracted to me,” Tobio said with a slight shrug. Despite his racing heart, he kept his face indifferent. He found it hard to look at Shouyo directly, though; instead he settled for looking around the cluttered kitchen.

There were dishes strewn across the counter, drying on a towel. A dirty pan sat abandoned on the stove – judging by the leftover scraps, it had been used to cook scrambled eggs – and a million sticky notes littered the refrigerator, some with grocery lists, some with quick notes, and others with incoherent scribbles. Shouyo noticed Tobio’s gaze lingering on the stove and supplied quietly, “Mitsu-chan and Haru-chan felt left out leaving notes on the fridge.”

A small smile came to Tobio’s lips at the thought. Ichiro loved to draw pictures, but never had Tobio put them on display; instead, he kept them tucked away in a box in his closet that he pulled out whenever he felt stressed. “I like it,” Tobio decided finally, voice short and a little strained as he continued to process the words Shouyo had said a few minutes ago now. He supposed maybe he owed Shouyo a formal response.

Before he could, though, in came Ichiro, squealing and shouting about the stuffed pig toy he found in the twins’ toybox. After him Hitoka stumbled in, breathless and smiling apologetically. “Sorry, Tobio,” she breathed. “He slipped by me.”

“Uncle, piggy!” Ichiro yelled, jumped up and down at Tobio’s feet. Tobio smiled, bent down and lifted him into a hug and pressed kisses all over his chubby cheeks.

“What do piggies say?” he prompted, tickling Ichiro’s sides. Ichiro squealed and kicked his feet.

“Oink!” he cried excitedly. Then, he squirmed in Tobio’s arms to turn and face Shouyo. “Uncle Shouyo, piggy!”

“I see that!” Shouyo replied enthusiastically, smiling in a way that was too dangerously contagious.

“I’d take them outside, but it’s raining,” Hitoka said with an exasperated sigh. “They’re super energetic today.”

“It’s okay, Hitoka,” Tobio smiled faintly over Ichiro’s shoulder at her. “Thank you.”

Hitoka grinned and nodded quickly. “No problem! Ichiro-chan’s always a delight.”

Shortly thereafter, Haruto and Mitsu stampeded into the kitchen with stuffed animals of their own. Tobio set Ichiro down and the three of them ran several circles around the small kitchen, making various animal noises – some of which corresponded to the animals they held, some not so much – and paraded out of the kitchen once more, Hitoka behind them to usher them out.

“So,” Shouyo broke the weird silence that settled between them.

“I’m, uh. Me too.” Tobio wringed his hands, a nervous habit that hadn’t seen the light of day since his high school years.

“You’re? What?” Shouyo smirked a little, and Tobio could almost guarantee Shouyo knew exactly what he was talking about.

“I’m attracted to you,” Tobio blurted, face red and hot and honestly he just wanted to get it over with. Shouyo laughed a little at the way his face contorted with what seemed to honestly be pain, and Tobio sent him a warning glare. His laughter quelled, but the smile didn’t.

“Well, good!” Shouyo chirped.

“Could you maybe have said something before the _literal_ day I’m leaving for America,” Tobio griped, but a relieved smile pulled at his own lips. Shouyo laughed.

“Sorry, sorry.” He paused for a moment. “Hitoka said she’d watch the kids,” he said softly. “Do you want to, I don’t know, go somewhere?”

“Um—”

But before he could respond, Shouyo had ahold of Tobio’s wrist and tugged him through the house. “Hitoka, hon, Tobi and I are going to go finish packing up some bags at his house! Can you watch the kids?”

Hitoka peeked her head out of the downstairs bedroom, wearing a feather boa and an extreme amount of play makeup. Below her, Mitsu and Ichiro held various play makeup containers, and Haruto wielded a few hangers with dress-up clothes on them. She smiled, wide and sunny, and nodded quickly. “Go ahead! We’re playing fashion show! Be back in time for us to go down the runway!” she giggled.

“Oi, Shou—”

“Thanks, Hitoka!”

The front door slammed shut and suddenly Tobio stood on the porch with Shouyo, the rain much lighter now and dripping off the small awning covering the porch. Shouyo stared up at him for a moment, smiling and bright and it’s like the sun had never left for the day, and then they were moving again, through the rain and back to Tobio’s house.

“What are we doing?” Tobio asked, his voice hushed and a little nervous.

“I dunno, Tobi,” Shouyo grumbled (the tone really didn’t suit him, Tobio thought idly), “maybe talking about the fact that we’re adults who are attracted to each other? And maybe doing something about that before _one_ of us leaves for the United States?”

Tobio unlocked the door.

They were barely inside before Tobio finally leaned down, connected their lips for the third time ever – and they melded so perfectly together that Tobio thought they could be mistaken for a couple that had been married ten years, learning every part of each other. Tobio’s hands found Shouyo’s hips and he grabbed them, tightly enough that fingerprint-shaped bruises would bud the next morning but Shouyo couldn’t find it in himself to care. His fingers knotted in Tobio’s silken hair, tugged his head experimentally and Tobio _groaned_ , pressed Shouyo up against the wall and trailed a hand up his side.

Tobio pulled back for a moment, gasped out, “This is a bad idea.”

“Why?” Shouyo panted, eyes wide and face dusted pink. “I thought you wanted this—”

“I do,” Tobio said quickly. “I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about you. That’s the problem.”

Shouyo smirked. “That’s the _goal_ ,” he corrected, reconnecting their lips and unbuttoning Tobio’s shirt. Tobio wondered idly if Shouyo had done this before, with another man – or really, another _woman_ even. He seemed a little too good at it. He had no time to be jealous, though, considering the ease with which Shouyo brushed the shirt off Tobio’s shoulders and worked instead on undoing his belt.

Tobio grabbed the back of Shouyo’s thigh, swept him up (he was a lot heavier than Tobio anticipated, but he managed not to drop him) and carried him to the downstairs bedroom. He was relieved, now, that he’d had the mind to grab condoms and lube when he got back from America. Shouyo fell to the bed unceremoniously, staring up at Tobio with flushed cheeks, his chest rising and falling quickly trying to catch his breath.

Tobio fumbled with the buttons of Shouyo’s shirt, then caught on the third he decided instead to lift it over Shouyo’s head. The latter sat up to aid him, and then his hands busied themselves trying once more to undo Tobio’s belt. It was easier this time, with Tobio looming over him like this. Shouyo wrapped his legs around Tobio’s waist, finally succeeded in tugging away the offending belt, and tossed it aside. Tobio rocked their hips together, tentatively, testing the waters, and together they groaned, Shouyo’s back arching up and off the mattress.

Shouyo’s lips found Tobio’s neck as Tobio palmed Shouyo’s erection through his jeans. They melded together well, even the sounds they elicited from each other harmonizing in one beautiful, erotic melody that Tobio would find himself repeating during lonely nights in lonely hotel rooms.

“Tobi,” Shouyo breathed over the shell of his ear, and he nearly melted into a puddle right then. He rocked their hips together once more, cut off Shouyo’s speech with a bubbling moan, and let one hand drift to grab Shouyo’s ass while the other knotted so delicately in the hair he’d been wanting to pull since they kissed the week before.

Tobio’s thumb hooked under Shouyo’s jeans from the back and he managed to pull them down slightly, reluctantly pulled his other hand from Shouyo’s hair in order to undo Shouyo’s pants button. Shouyo’s lips met Tobio’s neck and he sighed, tilted his head to grant better access to him, and along the other side of his neck Shouyo’s fingers grazed his skin gently, like the sun on an otherwise chilly day. He managed to pull Shouyo’s pants off, tossed them aside and pressed the heel of his palm into his crotch. Shouyo mewled, back arching again (a sight that managed to ingrain itself in Tobio’s mind already) and pressed his hips up to meet Tobio’s hand.

Shouyo’s face contorted into one of pleasure just as Tobio reconnected their hips, the feeling twice as good now without his rough jeans to inhibit their movements. _Three layers between us,_ he thought to himself, then a small smirk played at his lips. He reached forward and brought the zipper down on Tobio’s jeans, used his feet to slide them down his legs. Tobio flushed, swatted his feet away after a moment and pulled them off himself. _Two,_ Shouyo thought with a bit more excitement, and he reconnected their hips once more.

Tobio’s mouth fell into a perfect circle, no noise escaping him as he processed just how wonderful the sensation felt. Shouyo’s legs rewound themselves around his waist and Tobio couldn’t contain himself much longer; he reached for the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a bottle of lube and a condom. “Oh, Tobi, were you _waiting_ for this?” Shouyo teased.

“Shut up,” Tobio grumbled back, and effectively shut Shouyo up by rolling their hips together again. Shouyo moaned, loudly enough that Tobio almost feared the kids could hear them next door. But then, well, even Shouyo’s loudest moans didn’t compare to the shrill laughter of toddlers that he heard every once in a while.

Tobio uncapped the lube and slicked his fingers while Shouyo watched, eyes wide and face contorted with anticipation. Shouyo shimmied out of his boxers, then, with no qualms about being naked in front of Tobio, it seemed; Tobio looked him over and saw that he did, indeed, have a build similar (if not better) than most of his teammates. He suddenly remembered the remorse he’d felt being so judgmental of Shouyo when they first met, of his volleyball skills (or lack thereof, that he believed). Shouyo must have noticed the way his face scrunched with a deep frown, and he reached up, smoothed those wrinkles with his thumb. “Quit looking so angry,” he said, lip puffed out in a way that was so damn irresistible. Tobio leaned down and kissed the pout away.

He slid a finger into Shouyo smoothly as they kissed, with Shouyo’s breath hitching ever so quietly against his lips. He halted for a moment, waited for Shouyo to give the affirmative to go deeper, then after a few moments added another. Their lips never left each other’s, even as Tobio scissored his fingers, even as Tobio added a third finger, even as Shouyo’s noises of satisfaction and apprehension were swallowed by Tobio. He pulled his fingers out, finally, and pulled their lips apart with a satisfying popping noise. His brain still couldn’t quite process what they were doing – his mind still ran on hyperdrive, honestly – but then Shouyo’s hands were on his cheeks and he was pulling his head down to kiss his furrowed forehead, and he remembered that _oh right, we were about to have sex._

“Are you ready?” Tobio asked softly, moved to mouth at Shouyo’s neck while Shouyo opened the condom wrapper and slid it on him.

“I’ve been ready since I got up this morning,” Shouyo said back with that lilting, teasing tone that Tobio found himself loving more and more every second they spent together.

Tobio dropped his boxers the rest of the way and lifted Shouyo off the mattress by the small of his back, slid into him slowly, stopping when Shouyo made a noise or gripped his shoulder. He was patient, more patient than he thought he would be, especially being so close to Shouyo like this, being able to see where his skin tone ended and his pink blush started. It drove him wild, but still he kept his patience.

Shouyo babbled, Tobio found. When Shouyo finally gave the ‘okay’ for Tobio to slide all the way in, he cried out, and then he muttered to himself, muttering how good it felt or how handsome Tobio was or how good it felt again. He seemed to need his mouth to be occupied, and Tobio gladly obliged; he leaned down and kissed his muttering away, swallowed the next declaration of “this feels so good, Tobi”.

He moved slowly at first, but quickly and easily enough Shouyo’s hips met his, forcing Tobio deeper, and Tobio understood his intentions. He rocked his hips harder, faster, and Shouyo mewled below him, grabbing his shoulders and digging his nails into him to form crescent indents. Tobio’s skin burned where they connected – a good burn, akin to the sun beating down on him at the beach on a hot summer day. He felt Shouyo’s body heat sear into him, suddenly needed their bodies to connect as much as possible, and hooked his legs under Shouyo’s thighs, pressing him up against the bedroom wall.

Shouyo mewled at the change of angle, and his arms wrapped easily around Tobio’s neck. Their chests pressed together, heaving and sweaty, and Tobio dropped his forehead against Shouyo’s as he adjusted to this new angle. It was difficult, but he managed to thrust into Shouyo again, and judging by the scream of pleasure that erupted from him Tobio had managed to find his sweet spot. He tried again, received a similar reaction (and Shouyo’s back arched off the wall, which looked even better somehow than it had on the bed).

He kept a steady pace, gradually getting faster as a wave of pleasure rose inside him, threatened to crash over his entire body and make his knees buckle. “Tobi,” Shouyo gasped out, “oh, _Tobi._ ”

Tobio sped up, dropped his forehead down into the crook of Shouyo’s neck and groaned. He was close, and judging by the way Shouyo’s breathing sped, he was almost there, too. Carefully Tobio removed one arm hooked underneath Shouyo, pressed Shouyo further against the wall and brought his free hand between them to pump Shouyo’s cock in time with his thrusts. Shouyo came loud, his fingers knotting in Tobio’s hair as he cried out his name, his back arching off the wall again and his legs going limp around Tobio’s waist. Tobio came soon after, the look and sound of Shouyo enough to send that wave of pleasure crashing into him, his vision going white and his knees threatening to give out.

Somehow Tobio managed to remain upright on his jelly legs and carried Shouyo to the bed, dropped him down onto it and collapsed onto it himself. He fell onto his shoulder facing Shouyo, watched the man’s eyes flutter closed and open with a snap as he tried to keep from falling asleep. Then, that sunny smile of his spread across his face, and with his cheeks red from exertion, Tobio worried that maybe Shouyo had gotten heatstroke.

“Fuck,” Shouyo breathed. “That was good.”

Tobio snorted a short laugh. “Yeah,” he agreed, tentatively reaching over to brush some of the unruly orange curls away from Shouyo’s face. Shouyo turned his head towards him, that smile melting into something even warmer than the sun itself. Tobio sighed, content, and met that smile with a short kiss.

“You better think of me while you’re in America,” Shouyo pouted as he pulled back.

“I will,” Tobio assured, his breathing finally slowing and his heart rate coming down. “You’d better watch all my matches on TV and tell the twins Uncle Tobio is the best.”

“But what if you’re _not_ the best?”

Tobio scoffed. “Come on, Shou.”

Shouyo giggled, reached a small hand over and draped it over Tobio’s waist. “You’ll just have to do extra good for me. Okay?”

The smile that had felt so warm a moment ago felt full of sadness now, with the way Shouyo’s brow furrowed ever so slightly and his eyes glossed over. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re one of those people who cries after sex,” Tobio said in a teasing tone, but he knew that feeling. He felt that same dread within him.

“You could stay,” Shouyo blurted suddenly, his voice quiet and afraid and totally unlike Shouyo. “Here, I mean. You don’t have to go.”

“I do,” Tobio replied, cupped Shouyo’s cheek and gently rubbed his thumb over it. “I signed a contract. If I leave mid-season, I won’t get paid for any of it.”

“That’s stupid,” Shouyo huffed. Tobio shrugged a shoulder.

“A little, yeah.”

They stared at each other for a moment, both unsure of what to say. Shouyo inhaled, finally, closed his eyes. “How’s Ichiro-chan gonna react?”

“I told him yesterday,” Tobio replied softly. “He…wants the twins to come with us.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“That they can’t come, but we’ll call a whole bunch.”

He nodded, hesitant and nervous, and Tobio hated how it looked on him. Shouyo was supposed to be confident, happy, warm – and right now he felt cold. “We, ah,” he began, avoiding Tobio’s gaze, “we should head back, yeah?”

Tobio blinked once, then nodded apprehensively. “Yeah.”

* * *

“Tobio, you’re going to be late!”

“We won’t be late, we’ll be fine—”

“Uncle! Elephant!”

“Not now, Ichiro, we have to _go_.”

Together Shouyo, the twins, Tobio and Ichiro stampeded through the airport. An elephant stuffed animal absorbed Ichiro’s attention and finally Tobio wrangled his bags in his hands, scooped Ichiro into his arms instead. Shouyo carried Mitsu and Haruto, who both slept with their heads on each of his shoulders somehow in the noisy airport. Ichiro wheeled a small giraffe suitcase, and every once in a while Shouyo accidentally kicked it in forgetting how short Ichiro’s legs were.

They reached the gate just as the doors opened to board. Tobio set Ichiro down, bent over and held his knees to catch his breath. Waiting for them at the gate was a teammate of Tobio’s – Shouyo didn’t recognize him at first, but seeing the sweatshirt he wore recognized the team’s mascot – and he approached Ichiro, scooped the boy up like he was family. And Ichiro cheered to be held by Uncle Tendou, pulling on the man’s vibrant red hair. “Kageyama!” he cried, rushing over to them. “Almost thought you wouldn’t make it, like last time!”

“Hey, Tendou,” Tobio replied, a short, strained smile on his face.

“Who’s this?” Tendou peered over Tobio’s shoulder, a little lanky and birdlike (at least to Shouyo he appeared that way).

“This is Shouyo and his twins,” Tobio said softly. “My…” he couldn’t think of how to address Shouyo as a part of his life. Was he his neighbor, still? Was that their status? Were they friends? _Lovers_ , even?

“I’m his friend,” Shouyo said with a bright smile. “Sorry I can’t shake your hand – the babies are sleeping.”

“No worries!” Tendou smiled back. “We have to get going, Kageyama. Want me to get Ichiro situated on the plane? Coach managed to get us seats altogether this time!”

“Joy,” Tobio deadpanned. “Ah, yeah, if you could please. Thanks, Tendou.”

Tendou grabbed Ichiro’s hand and threw his carry-on bag over his shoulder, grabbed Ichiro’s giraffe suitcase in his other hand. Together they walked onto the plane together, leaving Tobio and Shouyo – and the two sleeping twins in his arms.

“So,” Tobio broke the silence between them.

“You’ll do extra good for us, right?” Shouyo said, his smile still sad and very unlike Shouyo. Tobio, quite frankly, hated the look of it.

“I will,” he nodded sternly. “I promise.”

“And you’ll call every day?”

“I’ll try, Shou.”

“You better text me back at least, Tobi.”

Tobio laughed shortly, but it felt forced and he nearly choked on it with the lump rising in his throat. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry, but with the people he cared about most (besides Ichiro himself) in front of him to say goodbye one last time for four months, he couldn’t help it. He scrubbed the tears welling in his eyes away, breath hitched. Shouyo had no free hands to wipe away his tears, and after Tobio’s first his fell openly. Gently, Tobio cupped his cheek and wiped them away. “We’ll watch all your matches,” Shouyo said, voice cracking and strained from the tears.

“Okay,” Tobio breathed back.

_“Last call for boarding flight 31-F, Tokyo, Japan to New York City, United States.”_

Tobio leaned in and kissed him. It didn’t last long enough, left Tobio wanting so much more, but he turned, and without a proper word of goodbye he boarded the plane. Shouyo watched until the doors closed, until the plane drove away from the terminal, until they were long gone, certainly. Hitoka finally called him, and he fumbled to grab his phone from his pocket while still supporting the twins in his arms, finally managed to answer it on speakerphone. _“Hey, Shou! Is everything alright?”_

“Yeah, sorry,” he said sheepishly. “We’ll be home soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for taking the time to read my silly little ramblings! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I decided to treat you with some smut because the next chapter is most certainly going to be at least a little sad. Sorry in advance!
> 
> Please leave any constructive criticism below! I love hearing from you guys!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first night was always the worst for him (it never really hit Ichiro until the first day Tobio had to drop him off at another new school), and it took a lot from him before there was something – some _one_ – to come home to. He sighed again, ran a hand through his hair. 
> 
> It hit him there, like a punch to the chest.
> 
> _I’m in love with him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! As always, thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to read my stupid ramblings! This chapter is um, well, it's something. It was meant to be a little sadder, I think, but we'll get to some of the angst in the next chapter or so! Picture this as the calm before the storm, sort of. I've always been bad with angst but I'm hoping I can manage to write some decently angsty chapters here!

Tobio had never been such a _mess_ over a single person.

The entire plane ride he thought about Shouyo, about the way his back had arched off the mattress, the way he’d said Tobio’s name so breathy and needy. He closed his eyes, willed himself to try and forget about it – they _were_ on a plane, after all, and he didn’t want the embarrassment of trying to hide…that while sitting in between Tendou and Ichiro.

He spent a majority of the flight chewing on his lip, trying to forget that face Shouyo had made. He could imagine Shouyo laughing at him now, laughing at his predicament like it was all some fun little game. And then he was imagining kissing the laugh right from his mouth, and he was back to where he started.

Shortly after they arrived to the airport, a car picked them up and took them to a local hotel. Tendou’s room was just next to his and Ichiro’s, and Tobio thanked every god above that Tendou decided to retire to bed for the evening when they arrived. He needed some time to himself. He got Ichiro situated in bed, turned off the light, and turned on the television to one of Ichiro’s favorite Animal Planet television shows. “I’m going to take a shower,” he told the boy, pressed a small kiss to Ichiro’s temple. “When I get done, we can call Uncle Shouyo and the twins. Okay?”

Ichiro grinned and nodded, his attention mostly focused on the penguins waddling across the screen. Tobio sighed, smiled to himself. His boy was so cute it wasn’t fair.

He got in the shower and hesitantly closed and locked the door. Ichiro would knock if he needed anything, but then, he didn’t often need anything when he got situated in front of a television show about animals. He sighed, made sure the water wasn’t too loud to hear a knock on the door, and peeled off his clothes and stepped inside.

He was exhausted – jet lag, mostly, but Shouyo’s face kept creeping back into his mind and every single time it winded him, thinking about kissing that stupid face the second he got home. He was lovesick, he was a lovesick fool, but he didn’t even care. All he needed in that moment was Shouyo’s stupidly orange hair bouncing around, laughing, hell, he didn’t even _care_ if they never had sex again.

Okay, he did, but that wasn’t the point right now.

Tobio rested his forehead against the cool tile of the shower, let the warm water cascade down his back and side while he steadied himself with deep breaths. The first night was always the worst for him (it never really hit Ichiro until the first day Tobio had to drop him off at another new school), and it took a lot from him before there was something – some _one_ – to come home to. He sighed again, ran a hand through his hair.

It hit him there, like a punch to the chest.

_I’m in love with him._

The way his smile burned into Tobio’s eyes, like sun spots so every time he blinked he saw that chipper smile. The way he laughed, woke up some happiness in Tobio that had been asleep for so long. The way he spoke, like Tobio was the most important person in the world, and the words babbled off his tongue so quickly that sometimes Tobio had a hard time understanding him but god, he _loved_ him. He loved him nonetheless.

When he returned from his shower, a little shaken up by his sudden epiphany, Ichiro looked exhausted. Still, the boy forced himself to sit up from where he’d curled around a pillow, and he smiled, and Tobio felt himself melting. At least he never had to give up Ichiro when he left. He’d always have Ichiro with him. “Uncle,” that tiny voice cooed, “call Uncle Shouyo? Please?”

Tobio hummed, looked at the clock. It was just past nine o’clock here – must have been around ten in the morning over there. He sat on the bed and Ichiro scrambled into Tobio’s lap as Tobio pulled his phone off the nightstand. He had Shouyo as the last person in his recent callers list; Shouyo had called while they were at dinner with Tendou, and Tobio cursed every part of him that had accidentally left his phone on airplane mode. Now, though, he hit the FaceTime button – something he hadn’t ever done before – and watched as after two rings, Shouyo’s bright orange hair illuminated the screen.

_“Tobio?”_

Tobio smiled, wide and relieved and _oh god_ did it feel so good to hear that voice saying his name again. “Hi, Shouyo,” he murmured, that smile still pulling at his lips. And Shouyo had one to match seconds later, and Tobio’s heart sped – _I love him I love him I love him_ his brain supplied on repeat. But he couldn’t tell him now. He had to wait, he _had_ to.

 _“Hi!”_ he said, chipper and smiling wide now too. He held a mug up to the camera, that grin still splayed on his face. _“Just enjoying my morning coffee. What are you two up to?”_

“Uncle Shouyo!” Ichiro screeched, and he reached for the phone but Tobio held it a little out of his reach. He and Shouyo laughed while Ichiro clawed his little hands, trying to grab hold of the cell phone, until finally he huffed his annoyance and retired back into Tobio’s side.

 _“Hi, Ichiro-chan!”_ Shouyo said, set his mug down and waved, smiling so bright his eyes were nearly closed. _“Uncle Shouyo misses you!”_

Ichiro squealed; Tobio smiled and ruffled his hair, combing his fingers through it. “How are the twins?” he asked, diverting his attention from Ichiro back to Shouyo.

 _“They’re alright,”_ Shouyo sighed softly. _“Still don’t really understand where you and Ichiro-chan went, but I promised them we’d see you on TV!”_

His heart beat faster. _I love him._ His smile wavered, thinking about how desperately he wished, just one night, for Shouyo to be here in his arms. That’s all he could ever want. But he knew that if Shouyo were here one night Tobio certainly wouldn’t let him leave the next, and then where would they be? A stalemate? Would Shouyo even _want_ to go back? “Our first televised game won’t be for another month,” he spoke softly, but his voice broke as he spoke. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t do that, not here, not with Ichiro up against him. He had to be strong.

 _“I know!”_ Shouyo groaned on the other end. _“I already recorded it, but I seriously can’t wait. You’ll call me right after, won’t you?”_

He exhaled, tried to force the stinging sensation in his eyes to leave with it. “I will,” he promised, and a sad smile came to Shouyo’s lips.

_“Hey, Tobio, don’t go crying on me. If you cry, then I’ll for sure cry.”_

“Shut up, I’m not gonna—”

“Uncle Shouyo,” Ichiro wailed from below him, reaching haphazardly for the phone again. Tobio frowned, felt his lip quiver and sank his teeth into it, watching those real, genuine, hurt tears sprout from his little boy. He combed through Ichiro’s hair, but it didn’t soothe him; if anything, it agitated him more, being held in place by Tobio.

 _“Oh, Ichiro-chan,”_ Tobio could almost audibly hear the snap of Shouyo’s heart on the other end. And, had he been listening closely enough, he could have heard the snap of his own, seeing Shouyo start to cry, those tears blossoming in his own eyes. _Jesus,_ Tobio thought, exasperated, _I’m not going to make it four months if every time we get on the phone everyone starts crying._

Roughly he pressed his palm to his own eye, wiping away his own tears that threatened to spill. He propped the phone up on the lamp of the night stand and pulled Ichiro into his arms, humming softly to him and rocking back and forth. For a few moments, he forgot that they were still on the phone, his entire being dedicated to soothing the boy in his lap. And it worked, after a few minutes, as he hummed one of Ichiro’s favorite Disney movie songs, gently ran his fingers through the boy’s soft hair. The wails died quickly, but it took much longer to cure Ichiro’s whimpers and sniffles.

Tobio was brought out of his daze by a bitter laugh from Shouyo. He startled, suddenly reminded that Shouyo was on the phone, and looked up at him, eyes half-lidded. The crying seemed to do a number on Ichiro, and with him already having been half-asleep when Tobio came out of the bathroom from his shower, the boy drifted off into a lazy sleep, head lolling while Tobio readjusted them so Ichiro was cradled in his arms.

 _“You’re so good with kids,”_ Shouyo mused, and Tobio flushed, shook his head lightly.

“I’m good with Ichiro,” he replied in a soft tone. “Kids are scared of me.”

Shouyo chuckled on the other line, quiet, like he was in the same room as them. It felt like they could be in the same room. Tobio almost wanted to reach out, to see if he could touch him.

He didn’t.

 _“The twins aren’t scared of you,”_ Shouyo smiled. _“Well, not anymore, at least. They were a little in the beginning, but that’s just because you yelled at me.”_

“Hey,” Tobio replied, puffed his lip out just slightly. “I didn’t yell. I _asked._ ”

 _“Sure, sure, big scary man asking in a very gruff voice for us to keep it down please?”_ Shouyo seemed amused. _“No, no. No yelling though. So the toddlers wouldn’t be scared at_ all.”

“I didn’t say that,” Tobio muttered. Shouyo laughed. It reverberated off Tobio’s ribs, warmed his entire heart. _I love him I love him I—_

_“Is everything okay, Tobi? You look like you’re going to hurl or something.”_

He exhaled, took a second to remind himself to breathe. “Yeah, Shou,” he replied, forcing a smile to his face. “Everything is okay.”

* * *

They called every single day, and sometimes if Tobio and Ichiro were able to slip away from team dinners, they managed to catch the twins before they left for school. Those phone calls were always hectic – one of the toddlers somehow always managed to snatch the phone from Shouyo when he lost focus for a second – and Ichiro sometimes even managed to take the phone from Tobio, and they spoke to each other in some sort of toddler-babble that Tobio didn’t understand but found adorable nonetheless.

The calls spanned anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, but Shouyo always told Tobio good night and Tobio always told Shouyo good morning, and for those ten minutes to an hour everything felt _right._ Like he could make it through these few months. His contract ended at the end of this tournament season, and with every call he got closer and closer to the day he could finally stop – he could finally be done, use the money he’d dumped into savings from his volleyball days and live off that, become a stay-at-home dad (or uncle, in this case).

It was when they weren’t on the phone that everything felt off. A few times Tobio had gotten reprimanded during practice for zoning out, thinking about Shouyo and the twins. He managed to screw his head on straight most times, to push those thoughts to the back of his head, but sometimes Koutarou would say something that just sounded so _Shouyo_ , or someone would leap up and for a split second Tobio would be reminded of Shouyo and the way he jumped.

“Kageyama, get your head out of your ass!” the coach yelled to him as Tobio sent a set just a little too close to the net. Koutarou adjusted in the air and tipped it over the hands of the blockers.

“Sorry, sir,” Tobio grumbled back through gritted teeth. Not _every_ set could be perfect.

But the coach was right – Tobio had been thinking about Shouyo again. Nothing tangible, even. Just…Shouyo. Just his face, his presence. Almost like he was in the goddamn building, or something. Like he could hear Shouyo’s laugh echoing from the locker room.

Their final tournament game was fast approaching in the next three days, and while the tournament season this year had gone really well – they were the favored team in the championship game – Tobio still couldn’t feel very content with it. He felt like the only way he’d be content is with Shouyo there, somehow by his side. Somehow Shouyo, standing at the net next to him saying they’d kill it, or something.

Tobio and Shouyo had played volleyball before, a few times after the kids’ practice finished up and Tooru and Hajime didn’t have plans. Most days they’d play two-on-two, and despite Tooru and Hajime knowing each other’s play styles really well, Tobio and Shouyo’s natural bond to each other – sun and moon, practically – had them winning nearly every game. And sometimes, when Kei and Tadashi weren’t busy, they’d play three-on-three. Tadashi handled receiving (he was much better at that than Shouyo was), and their team became nearly unstoppable.

Playing on a court like this, though. Tobio dreamt about it, knew it could never, _would_ never happen. But _god,_ was that all he wanted.

He heard it again – a sunny, airy laugh from somewhere within the building. He couldn’t be the only one who had heard it, not this time; a few others on the team turned their heads. One of his teammates’ daughters even turned and looked while she scooped up stray volleyballs and put them in the ball carts. And then he heard Tooru, obnoxious and loud and he threw his head back to look at the gymnasium ceiling. Of course Tooru would come back – he always did a few days before the end of the season. He always did, because he had the coach wrapped around his finger.

Sure enough, Tooru opened the gymnasium door shortly after, poking his head in and peering around. The coach turned, arched an eyebrow as if to ask what he wanted. “Hey, coach!” Tooru sang, striding into the room.

And behind him, a little orange head of hair.

Tobio felt his heart rise to his throat. Everything felt tight, and he froze on the spot. Shouyo met his eyes, and what looked like nerves melted away in a heartbeat, and he ran, he _sprinted_ and leapt into Tobio’s arms. They were in the middle of a scrimmage, and Tendou was just about to serve, but everything screeched to a half as Tobio caught Shouyo in the air, wrapped his arms around him like he’d been dreaming of doing since he got on the plane.

“Tobio,” he whimpered, his hands winding around Tobio’s neck.

“Shou,” Tobio gasped back. “What are – what are you _doing_ here?”

Shouyo laughed a little airily. “Ah, well, Tooru told me he comes for the last game of the tournament every year,” he played with the collar of Tobio’s practice shirt while he spoke. “A-and, ah, Hitoka let me use part of her Christmas bonus to come see you play. In person.”

Tobio held him tighter, a smile sprouting on his face that he was sure none of his teammates had seen before. “Hey, Shou-chan!” Tooru called from the side of the court. “They’re in the middle of a scrimmage! Can you guys, I don’t know, have your moment later?”

Shouyo opened his mouth to reply but Tobio beat him to it. “Please, let him play.”

Shouyo looked between Tobio and the coach. “A-ah, are you sure, Tobi? I don’t even have—”

“I have an extra set of shoes in the locker room,” Tobio murmured. “Come on.”

He pulled Shouyo into the locker room while the coach deliberated. From the locker room, Tobio heard the coach pull one of the wing spikers from the scrimmage, and a few words of protest from that spiker.

The second they stepped into the locker room, Tobio had Shouyo against the wall, kissing his jaw and his neck. Shouyo mewled in surprise and threw a hand over his mouth. “Were you…gonna tell…me?” Tobio breathed between kisses.

“I-I,” Shouyo’s knees wobbled, “it was s-so last minute…and I wanted t-to surprise you!”

“Well, you succeeded,” Tobio murmured, met Shouyo’s lips with his own. And _god_ , did it taste so much better than Tobio remembered. The second they kissed, though, there was a fist on the locker room door.

“You two better not have sex in there!” Tooru said in that lilting tone, and Tobio pulled back, startled and annoyed.

“Fuck off Tooru, I’m getting him a pair of my shoes,” Tobio grunted back, but Tooru just laughed. Like he knew what was going on behind the door.

Still, Tobio reluctantly removed himself from Shouyo and headed for his locker. “Come on,” he nodded his head further into the locker room.

They came back out a few minutes later, Shouyo in shoes and an extra set of knee pads, though he certainly didn’t need them. One of Tobio’s team’s wing spikers had been benched and Tooru kept the coach busy, talking about some stupid thing or another that Tobio didn’t really care to know about until they returned. “You’re eating up practice time,” the coach grunted as he saw Tobio and Shouyo return to the courts, but he seemed a bit more…lenient than he would normally. Tobio frowned, couldn’t really put his finger on it.

“Oh, Kageyama, that’s so cute!” Tendou swooned from his spot at the serving position. “Having your little _boyfriend_ play with us. How precious!”

Koutarou laughed from Tobio’s other side. “I should join the other team – no way you’re tossing to me now, huh?”

“Don’t worry,” Ushijima muttered from the other side of the net. “We’ll make him toss to you, Bokuto.”

Tobio just smirked.

The ball went up, and the other side of the net had a hard time returning Tendou’s serve. It came back over in the form of a weak spike from Kindaichi, and the receive was perfect, directly where Tobio needed it.

And Shouyo ran, and Shouyo flew.

Tobio put the ball directly into his hand and after it left his fingertips he immediately heard it slam onto the other side of the court. Tobio looked over, looked at how Ushijima stood rooted to the spot, looked at how far he was from Shouyo. Shouyo’d run across the court to avoid Ushijima’s block, and in the process gained the attention of the entire team. And all Tobio could do was smile and ruffle Shouyo’s hair. “Nice,” he said with a grin that was so unlike him Koutarou nearly fainted.

“Sorry,” Tendou spoke up from the back row, “but what the _hell_ was that?”

“Chibi can jump!” Tooru laughed from the sidelines, and Tobio glanced over. Even the _coach_ was smiling.

“Damn it,” Koutarou whined. “I’m _really_ not gonna get any tosses.”

And Tobio laughed, Tobio _laughed_ like he never had laughed in front of this team before. His eyes wandered back to Shouyo, to this wonderful ball of light that brought out the best in him, and Shouyo smiled up at him, and yeah, it looked a lot better than it did through his phone screen. Koutarou cleared his throat. “Coach, does that mean I can—”

“No, you cannot invite Keiji,” the coach replied, gripping the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

“Well how come Kageyama’s mans gets to come?” Koutarou huffed, stomped his foot like a child. Shouyo looked between Tobio and Koutarou, a look of surprise at the way Koutarou acted in person.

“Tobio-chan’s ‘mans’ is also pro level,” Tooru shot back, a glinting smirk in his eye. “He got an offer the same year Tobio-chan did.”

Tobio glanced down at Shouyo, then wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. “Come on,” he said, pressed a kiss to the top of Shouyo’s head before continuing, “I wanna kick Ushijima’s ass.”

“Hey,” Ushijima grumbled from the other side of the court, but he wore a small, determined smirk. “Give us Bokuto then.”

Tobio shrugged, exchanged Koutarou for Tetsuro with ease. “I’m not tossing to you,” he made a point of informing Tetsuro.

“That’s fine,” Tetsuro grinned back. “I’ll just block every single one of Koutarou’s spikes.”

“No fair, I feel like I’m being ganged up on!” Koutarou whined across the net.

Tobio’s team ended up winning by a mile – six or seven points, at least. Shouyo leapt into his arms again when they finished, kissing him to celebrate their victory, and Tobio couldn’t help but smile against the man’s lips, one arm hooked around Shouyo’s back and the other tangled in his hair. “Gross,” Tendou whined from behind them. “Get a damn room!”

The coach dismissed the team from practice shortly after, and just as Tobio and Shouyo were trailing the others into the locker room, he called out to them. “Hinata. Kageyama,” he spoke clearly, which was rare. Tobio halted in his tracks, Shouyo just a moment after him, and they turned in tandem.

“Yes, sir,” Tobio put his hands behind his back, stood at attention and Shouyo tried to copy his movements. In the end, it just looked really cute.

“Yes, sir!” Shouyo repeated beside him, and Tobio smiled, looked away. The coach rolled his eyes.

“I see you aren’t planning on renewing your contract, Kageyama,” he spoke sternly. Tobio tensed and didn’t chance a look at Shouyo; he hadn’t told him that information yet.

“Wait, you’re not?” Shouyo asked quietly. “Why not? You’re like, at the prime age!”

“Shut up,” Tobio muttered under his breath, his shoulders tight and his jaw set.

“I was wondering if you’d reconsider,” the coach continued, “if we offered Hinata a position on the team.”

“H-hah?!” Shouyo squeaked. “B-but, ah…”

“The offer is still on the table,” the coach said curtly. “I offered you a position before and you turned me down. I’m hoping you’d reconsider.”

“Sir,” Tobio interjected, “I was planning on this being my last season.”

Shouyo glanced over at him, a look of disbelief on his face. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing; he saw the way Tobio looked when he played volleyball. He _loved_ volleyball.

So, Shouyo exhaled softly, shook his head. “Can you give me some time to consider?”

“Of course,” the coach said. “I can give you a month. Please think about it, Hinata, Kageyama.” He looked between the two of them one last time, then waved his hand. “Dismissed.”

* * *

They sat around a dinner table – Tobio, Shouyo, Tendou, and Koutarou, with Ichiro in Koutarou’s lap – looking over menus. Ichiro pointed happily to a picture of a bowl of mac and cheese, and Koutarou happily ordered it for him. The atmosphere around the table felt tense, heavy; Tobio and Shouyo were short with each other, but not in a mean way. Their responses were just…quick. Koutarou wondered if that was just their relationship dynamic.

“So, how long have you two been together?” Koutarou broke the tension. They exchanged a quick look, each trying to read the other’s expression for a long moment, before Tobio exhaled.

“Ah, we haven’t really…” Shouyo murmured.

“It’s…not official?” Tobio offered, more asking Shouyo than responding to Koutarou.

“Yeah,” Shouyo breathed back.

“Well, Kageyama certainly looks happier than I’ve ever seen him,” Koutarou teased back with a warm, happy smile.

“Shut up,” Tobio grunted, but he couldn’t hide the small blush on his face. “What are you getting, Shou?”

“Chicken parm, I think.”

“Mm.”

The rest of the dinner continued in the same short, tense manner. They talked about Shouyo’s offer a little, but the second Tendou broached the topic Tobio tensed even more than he already was, and they breezed past it moments later. “So, Hinata,” Koutarou spoke up shortly after, “how long are you gonna be here?”

“I’m leaving on the same plane taking Tobio back,” he replied, a sigh of relief like it was a topic he felt he could speak on. “My twins are at home with Hito—ah, their mom, so I’m already a little homesick.”

“Oh, the little babies you were carrying in the airport!” Tendou cried. Shouyo nodded excitedly.

“Yeah! They’re my babies, Mitsu-chan and Haruto-chan.”

Tobio’s heart squeezed just hearing their names. He couldn’t wait to see them.

“Show me a picture!” Koutarou demanded, and Shouyo laughed, happily pulling out his phone and scrolling through to find a picture. He passed his phone across the table and Koutarou made a noise somewhere between a squeal and a laugh. “They look just like you!”

Shouyo laughed a little. “I get that a lot.”

“Do they get along well with Ichiro-chan?” Koutarou asked, bouncing the boy in his lap. Ichiro laughed.

“Mitsu-chan, Haru-chan,” he mumbled, grabbing at Koutarou’s jacket.

“They do,” Shouyo nodded. “Ichiro-chan is their very best friend,” he leaned across the table and ruffled Ichiro’s hair. The little boy giggled.

The rest of dinner went a little smoother, with Tobio too busy eating to maintain his tense body language. They parted ways shortly after, each heading up to their respective hotel rooms – they’d eaten at the hotel they were staying at. Tobio opened the door, held it for Shouyo, who carried a now-sleeping Ichiro in his arms. “Ah, this room is so nice!” Shouyo cooed when they stepped inside.

“Mm,” Tobio nodded his affirmation. There was a separate sitting space with a large bathroom to the side – complete with a soaker tub that Tobio had used more than once – and a master suite with a pull-out couch and king-sized bed. Half the time Tobio didn’t even bother pulling the bed out; Ichiro tended to fall asleep in his bed. “It’s too big,” he said finally. “For two people.”

“Good thing you have three now, huh?” Shouyo teased back.

“Let me pull out the bed,” Tobio murmured, stepping around the sitting room furniture. Shouyo trailed him into the room.

Tobio shuffled around, moved his duffel bag off the couch and pulled the cushions off the couch, setting them aside haphazardly as he pulled the small mattress out of the couch. He pulled a couple pillows off the king bed and laid them out. Shouyo set him down carefully, and Tobio grabbed for Ichiro’s blanket (affectionately named ‘Mr. Blankie’ by Ichiro) and laid it over him. “He’s completely out,” Shouyo murmured, a small smile on his lips.

“Did you have any bags?” Tobio asked, looking around.

“Oh! Right,” Shouyo grinned. “Tooru got a room here, too. He said he’d bring the bags up if I told him the room number.” Shouyo pulled out his phone, texted Tooru their room number, and a few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Shouyo opened it, fully expecting Tooru to be there, but it was just his bag, and the elevator dinged down the hall.

The second Shouyo returned inside and threw his duffel into a sitting chair, Tobio had him in his arms, his nose buried in Shouyo’s orange hair. “I missed you,” he murmured, pressed a kiss to the top of Shouyo’s head.

Shouyo hummed in his embrace, leaning further into him. “Missed you too,” he whispered. “I watched all your matches. Every one of them.”

Tobio leaned over a bit and wrapped an arm underneath Shouyo’s thighs, lifting him and walking him into the bathroom. “Oh yeah?” he murmured, his lips meeting Shouyo’s neck. “Was I good?”

Shouyo chewed his lip to keep from moaning. “Y-yes,” he stuttered out, tilting his head to grant Tobio better access. He felt Tobio smirk against his neck.

“Good,” he whispered, trailing his kisses up towards Shouyo’s ear. He listened to Shouyo’s breath hitch, to him shuffle just a little so their hips pressed together as Tobio lowered him onto the counter. Tobio continued to mouth at his neck, his ear, while his hands gripped at his hips subtly. He smirked wider hearing Shouyo’s breath hitch again and a soft moan leave him.

“T-Tobi,” Shouyo whined quietly. “We shouldn’t…”

“Can you be quiet?”

“ _No._ ”

Tobio rocked their hips together, and as if to prove his point on accident Shouyo threw his head back, a loud gasp leaving him as he brought a hand to his mouth and bit down on his palm. Tobio clicked his tongue.

“Tobi,” he mewled, and Tobio pressed harder against him.

“Shower?” he asked, his voice breathy and needy in Shouyo’s ear. Shouyo bobbed his head quickly.

They took their time showering together, so long even that the water started to run cold. Tobio seemed content to keep going, but Shouyo shivered and he sighed, captured Shouyo’s lips one last time before stepping out with him. Shouyo wrapped a towel around his waist and left to grab pajamas, Tobio toweling off in the process, his entire body exhausted after a full day’s worth of conditioning _plus_ the events of their shower. He sighed, spent and satisfied, threw on a pair of pajama pants and called it good, then crawled into bed with wet hair.

And Shouyo crawled in with him, wearing an oversized tee shirt and a pair of boxers. Tobio didn’t think his life could get any better than that moment – aside from maybe having the twins there, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I have the rest of this fic mapped out now, which is super exciting! Please leave any constructive criticism below, or even if you just want to yell at me for this chapter or whatever. I love hearing from you! <3
> 
> If you're looking to personally contact me, you can follow me on tumblr (same username - yamayamawrites)!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again for taking the time to read my silly fics! Your support really means a lot to me! <3


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